TL;DR
On June 1, 2026, GitHub Copilot switched from flat-rate pricing to a token-based "AI Credits" system, and the community forum responded with over 900 downvotes. Most of the outrage is aimed at the wrong target. Code completions are still unlimited on every plan. What actually changed is chat, agent mode, and PR review — and the real complaint isn't the price, it's the unpredictability. This article breaks down the actual numbers, what's still free, where the AI coding tools market stands in June 2026, and the hybrid Copilot + Claude Code workflow — anchored by a single AGENTS.md file — that I switched to as a result.
The problem
GitHub officially moved Copilot from a flat subscription to usage-based AI Credits on June 1. The community forum thread reacting to it crossed 900 downvotes within days. That's a strong signal, but it's worth pausing before reacting to forum sentiment alone, because a chunk of that anger is based on an incomplete picture of what actually changed.
What actually changed
