Microsoft recently rolled back a change in Visual Studio Code after developers raised concerns about automatic AI attributions. The update was intended to add a line crediting AI tools like Copilot to code commits by default. Many users felt this was intrusive and misleading, especially when they hadn’t explicitly enabled such attributions.

What Changed in VS Code

In early March, a new pull request modified VS Code’s Git extension to automatically append a “Co-authored-by: Copilot” line to commits that involved AI assistance. The change aimed to make AI-generated contributions more transparent by including this attribution in the commit history.

However, the default setting meant that even when developers didn’t use Copilot or had disabled chat features, the attribution still appeared. Many users reported that they manually reviewed and edited commit messages, only to find the AI credit added afterward, which they found unacceptable for professional workflows.

Developer Reactions and Microsoft’s Response

Developers expressed frustration over the unanticipated attribution being added without clear opt-in options. One user shared that they deleted the AI-generated message but found the co-author line still in the commit history, which they argued undermined trust in the version control process.

Over the weekend, Dmitriy Vasyura, the VS Code reviewer responsible for approving the change, apologized publicly. He admitted that approving the update without considering how users would react was a mistake. Microsoft has since announced that the attribution line will now be optional, requiring users to enable it explicitly.

This fix is scheduled to be included in VS Code version 1.119, expected soon. It shifts the default setting so that AI attributions are no longer added automatically, giving developers greater control over their commit history.

Broader Context of AI Attributions in Coding

This incident isn’t isolated. Other AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex have also faced similar scrutiny for automatically adding attribution lines. Developers tend to prefer having control over whether AI contributions are credited, often opting to turn such features off by default.

Different open-source projects have established their own standards. For example, the Linux project requires contributors to sign off on code and record AI assistance explicitly. Meanwhile, some projects outright prohibit AI-assisted submissions, citing concerns over authorship and intellectual property.

The debate over AI attributions extends beyond developer preferences. There are legal questions about whether AI-generated code qualifies for copyright. If not, adding attribution could complicate the use of AI code in commercial projects. Plus, insurers and legal teams worry that attribution might imply liability or responsibility, especially if AI-generated code causes issues.

Furthermore, many in the developer community believe attribution should be opt-in rather than opt-out, to avoid unnecessary complications and to respect user preferences. Microsoft’s decision to revert the change aligns with this sentiment, emphasizing user choice and transparency in AI-assisted coding tools.

Inspired by

• https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/05/04/microsoft_reverses_ai_credit_grab/

Sources

• github.com
• visualstudio.com
• github.com
• github.com
• github.com