Best Pair Programming Tools for Windows

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding companion that helps developers write, debug, and refactor code faster than ever. Built directly into popular IDEs like VS Code, JetBrains, and Visual Studio, Copilot suggests context-aware code completions and automates repetitive tasks. With Agent Mode, Copilot can plan, write, test, and even submit pull requests—acting like an onboarded team member that understands your repositories. Developers can toggle between advanced models such as GPT-5, Claude Opus 4.1, and Gemini 2.5 Pro to balance speed and depth. Its Copilot Chat and Spaces features bring code, documentation, and project notes together for richer, team-tailored insights. Whether you’re building solo or leading an enterprise project, Copilot enhances productivity and creativity across the entire software lifecycle. The GitHub Copilot coding agent streamlines development by automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, allowing developers to focus on more complex coding.

Microsoft Visual Studio is the industry-leading integrated development environment (IDE) for building modern applications across desktop, mobile, cloud, and web. It empowers developers to write, refactor, debug, test, and deploy software faster with intelligent assistance powered by GitHub Copilot and AI-driven workflows. With Agent Mode, developers can automate repetitive coding tasks, optimize performance, and receive contextual help directly in the IDE. The suite includes Visual Studio 2022, the comprehensive IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows, and Visual Studio Code, the lightweight, cross-platform editor supporting JavaScript, Python, and dozens of other languages. Visual Studio integrates seamlessly with Azure, GitHub, and CI/CD pipelines, enabling teams to collaborate and ship code efficiently. Trusted by millions worldwide, Visual Studio provides the tools and intelligence developers need to build reliable, scalable, and secure applications from concept to release.

The AI-first Code Editor. Cursor is a next-generation AI-powered code editor designed to accelerate software development with powerful, real-time code assistance. The platform integrates seamlessly with your development workflow, offering advanced features such as natural language code editing, auto-completion, and context-aware suggestions. Cursor predicts your next move and adapts to your coding style, making it an indispensable tool for developers. It also supports a wide range of extensions and themes, ensuring familiarity while introducing cutting-edge AI capabilities. Designed to boost productivity, Cursor simplifies debugging and enhances coding efficiency, empowering developers to work smarter, not harder.

Aider lets you pair program with LLMs, to edit code in your local git repository. Start a new project or work with an existing git repo. Aider works best with GPT-4o & Claude 3.5 Sonnet and can connect to almost any LLM. Aider has one of the top scores on SWE Bench. SWE Bench is a challenging software engineering benchmark where aider solved real GitHub issues from popular open source projects like django, scikitlearn, matplotlib, etc.