{"id":36476,"date":"2026-05-07T16:42:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cppblog\/?p=36476"},"modified":"2026-05-07T16:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:42:45","slug":"project-specific-build-optimizations-with-github-copilot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cppblog\/project-specific-build-optimizations-with-github-copilot\/","title":{"rendered":"Project-Specific Build Optimizations with GitHub Copilot"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are excited to announce that GitHub Copilot build performance for Windows now supports project-specific builds! Available in the latest Visual Studio Insiders<\/a>, you can target a single MSBuild project or CMake target instead of analyzing your entire solution. For game developers and teams working with large codebases, this eliminates the need to wait for a full-solution build when you only want to optimize one project.<\/p>\n

Since launching GitHub Copilot build performance for Windows in Public Preview<\/a>, we have received a lot of feedback from game studios working on large engines and enterprise monorepos. Rebuilding an entire solution to analyze one project is too slow and too disruptive. With project-specific builds, you can now point the agent at the project you care about and get your results faster.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Inspired by Game Developer Feedback<\/h3>\n

This feature came directly from feedback during our Private and Public Previews. Game developers working with large C++ codebases told us that full-solution builds were an adoption blocker. In many cases, you told us that you were walking away mid-conversation and switching tabs because the trace took too long.<\/p>\n

We kept hearing the same request: \u201cLet me analyze a single project.\u201d<\/p>\n

With our project-specific analysis update, you will get the same analysis, optimizations, and validated results, all scoped to the project you choose. The agent’s intelligence has not changed. Project-specific builds scope the build step<\/em>, not the analysis<\/em> model. You will continue to see bottleneck identification for expensive headers, long function generation times, and costly template instantiations.<\/p>\n

Getting Started with Project-Specific Builds<\/h3>\n

There are three ways to start a project-specific build performance session in Visual Studio. All entry points will feed into the same analysis pipeline.<\/p>\n

Right-Click a Project in Solution Explorer<\/h4>\n

Right-click any project in Solution Explorer and select Run Build Insights > Improve Build Performance<\/strong>. This will open a Copilot Chat session pre-filled with the project you selected, so you will not need to type anything.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n

Context Menu Entry<\/h4>\n

After selecting one of your projects in the Solution Explorer, the Build Menu will have a new entry. Select Build > Run Build Insights on Selection > Improve Build Performance<\/strong> to open the GitHub Copilot Chat window. This will start a session to optimize the build performance of your selected project.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n

Type Directly in Copilot Chat<\/h4>\n

Open the GitHub Copilot Chat pane, select the @BuildPerfCpp<\/strong> responder from the agent combo box.\n\"selecting<\/a>After selecting the responder, type:<\/p>\n

Help me improve build performance for <MyProject><\/em><\/p>\n

Replace MyProject with the name of the MSBuild project or CMake target you want to optimize.<\/p>\n

\"example<\/a><\/p>\n

Other Ways to Access GitHub Copilot Build Performance for Windows<\/h3>\n

Project-specific builds are the newest way to access the agent, but you can still analyze your full solution through the existing entry points.<\/p>\n

From The Build Menu<\/h4>\n

Select Build > Run Build Insights on Solution > Improve Build Performance<\/strong> to open the GitHub Copilot Chat window. This will start a session to optimize the build performance of your entire solution.<\/p>\n

From The Solution Explorer Context Menu<\/h4>\n

Right-click the solution node in Solution Explorer and select Improve Build Performance on Solution<\/strong>. This will open a Copilot Chat session scoped to your full solution.<\/p>\n

From The Build Insights View<\/h4>\n

If you already have an. etl trace file open from Build Insights, click the Improve<\/strong> button from the diagnostics session view. This reuses data from the existing trace results and will not start a new analysis until the current changes are processed.<\/p>\n

These entry points work well when you want to analyze your entire build. Use project-specific builds when you want to focus on one project.<\/p>\n

A Few Things to Keep in Mind<\/h3>\n