Response is Truncated because it is too long

[nallabolu]

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Copilot Feature Area

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I was working on a demo project by providing below prompt in GitHub Copilot in Visual Studion 2022 Community edition.
Lets create a new page for API End point testing for the application. Can you list all the API's End Points, along with load test and generate a report for list of API's

After a Analysing the files it states :
Now let me create the MVC View for the API Testing page:

its running forever and i cannot even stop the process. Is this a bug or issue with copilot..?

[Ajay-v44]

What you're experiencing is likely a bug or a performance issue with GitHub Copilot, not a standard feature. The behavior you described—Copilot "running forever" while "analysing the files" and attempting to generate a complex report—is a known problem for some users.

Why It's Happening

• Overly Broad Prompt: Your prompt, "Can you list all the API's End Points, along with load test and generate a report for list of API's," is very ambitious. It asks for a combination of code analysis, test generation, and report generation, which are separate, complex tasks. Copilot is an intelligent assistant, but it can struggle with large-scale, multi-step requests that require deep project-wide analysis, especially if the codebase is extensive.
• Performance and Resource Limits: GitHub Copilot works by sending your code context to a cloud-based AI model and receiving suggestions. If the context is too large or the task is too complex, the process can get stuck or time out. The "running forever" state you're in is likely a hang caused by a failure in this communication or processing.
• Client-Side Issue: It could also be an issue with the Visual Studio extension itself. There have been reports of the Copilot extension in Visual Studio and VS Code getting stuck, failing to stop a process, or not responding.

---

How to Fix It

1. Restart Visual Studio: The most immediate solution is to close and reopen Visual Studio. This will terminate the hung Copilot process and let you start fresh.
2. Break Down the Prompt: Instead of one large, complex request, break it down into smaller, manageable chunks.
   • First, ask for a list of API endpoints: "List all API endpoints in the project."
   • Then, ask for test code for a single endpoint: "Create a unit test for the /users endpoint."
   • Once you have the code, you can run the load tests and generate reports using separate tools, as this functionality is beyond Copilot's typical scope.
3. Check for Updates: Ensure both your Visual Studio 2022 and the GitHub Copilot extension are fully up to date. Updates often include bug fixes and performance improvements.
4. Temporarily Disable/Enable Copilot: In Visual Studio, you can click the GitHub Copilot icon in the bottom status bar to disable it, then re-enable it. This can sometimes reset the connection and resolve issues.
5. Reinstall the Extension: As a last resort, if the issue persists, try uninstalling and reinstalling the GitHub Copilot extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace. This can fix any corrupted files.

[nallabolu]

thank you for the reply. let me try it out.

[Visrit3]

I don't understand still. All it had to do was 'MOVE' a file... not read/write, and now I have 'truncated for brevity' all over my codebase after trying to have it import my patch on another machine. I use local GitHub and don't push the directory because of a lack of internet availability.

[Abdalla-Eldoumani]

Hi @nallabolu ,

This is not a bug on your project. Two things are happening.

Your prompt triggers Agent mode to run long tool actions like create_file, which sometimes hang in Visual Studio. The chat output hits the model’s length limit, so Copilot truncates the reply with the “response is too long” message.

I suggest you try the following:

• In Agent mode, cancel the request. Visual Studio documents canceling Agent runs and builds. Use the Cancel control in the chat, or stop the build with Build > Cancel or Ctrl + Break.

• Use Visual Studio 2022 17.14 or later and the latest Copilot components. Agent mode and fixes ship in these builds.

• Break the job into small steps, each with a short prompt. Examples:

  • "Create an empty MVC view named ApiTesting.cshtml."
  • "List controllers and actions in this solution."
  • "Add a simple form to call one GET endpoint."
  • Large, multi-part prompts often exceed output limits and stall runs.

• Use Ask mode for one-off edits and explanations. Switch to Agent only for multi-step changes.

• Approve tools selectively. Too many tool steps increase run time and failure risk.

If this helps, please mark the discussion as answered. All the best!

[nallabolu]

Sounds good. Let me give a try.

[dfinlen]

These are excuses not solutions. I understand that some AI models may have issues, these should be bugged and dealt with. I don't expect to have to restart Visual Studio every 30 minutes (this is the case now). Even with the latest VS version with a Pro subscription and an additional github subscription, I stil get the same terrible horrible support. COME ON DO BETTER!

[Kashan-2912]

Yes, some AI models in todays, at least as of now, are so much slow that they truncate responses without streaming response.... so yea, its not a bug, its just flaw in AI models and output of stream responses. and you can't fix it unfortunately. It all depends on luck.