TL;DR
Sourcegraph Cody offers self-hosted deployment options and integrates with your existing code intelligence infrastructure, giving enterprises more control over code privacy. GitHub Copilot benefits from Microsoft's enterprise security practices but requires cloud processing. Cody's self-hosted option makes it suitable for air-gapped environments; Copilot's ecosystem integration makes it the default choice for GitHub-centric teams.
Cody by Sourcegraph and GitHub Copilot are both AI coding assistants, but they come from different backgrounds with different privacy architectures. Cody builds on Sourcegraph's code intelligence platform with self-hosted options, while Copilot is tightly integrated with GitHub's cloud ecosystem. This comparison examines their security and privacy implications.
Platform Overview
What Is Cody?
Cody is Sourcegraph's AI coding assistant that provides code completion, chat, and codebase-aware assistance. It leverages Sourcegraph's code graph technology to understand your entire codebase. Cody is available as a cloud service or can be self-hosted with Sourcegraph Enterprise, giving organizations control over where code is processed.
What Is GitHub Copilot?
GitHub Copilot is Microsoft/GitHub's AI coding assistant powered by OpenAI models. It provides inline code suggestions, chat, and increasingly agentic capabilities. Copilot integrates deeply with GitHub repositories, pull requests, and the VS Code ecosystem. All processing happens on Microsoft Azure infrastructure.
Security Feature Comparison
| Security Feature | Cody | Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Hosted Option | Yes (Enterprise) | No |
| Air-Gapped Deployment | Possible with self-hosted | Not available |
| Codebase Context | Full graph with Sourcegraph | Repository indexing |
| Training Opt-Out | Enterprise guarantees | Business/Enterprise tiers |
| SOC 2 Compliance | Type II certified | Type II certified |
| Model Choice | Multiple models available | OpenAI models |
| Enterprise SSO | Yes | Enterprise tier |
| Audit Logging | Full with self-hosted | Enterprise tier |
Deployment Architecture
Cody's Flexible Deployment
Cody can run as a cloud service or be self-hosted with Sourcegraph Enterprise. Self-hosted deployments keep your code entirely within your infrastructure. The code graph that provides context is built and stored on your servers. For organizations with strict data residency requirements, this architecture provides compliance options that cloud-only tools can't match.
Self-hosted Cody benefits:
- Code never leaves your network
- Full control over data retention
- Integration with internal security tooling
- Air-gapped deployment possible
Copilot's Cloud Architecture
GitHub Copilot processes all requests through Microsoft Azure. There's no self-hosted option. Your code context is sent to cloud servers for AI processing. While Microsoft provides enterprise-grade security, the architecture fundamentally requires trusting external infrastructure with your code. For some organizations, this is acceptable; for others, it's a non-starter.
Codebase Context Security
Sourcegraph Code Graph
Cody's code intelligence comes from Sourcegraph's code graph, which understands relationships across your entire codebase. With self-hosted Sourcegraph, this intelligence stays within your infrastructure. The context sent to AI models can be precisely controlled based on what's indexed and what permissions users have.
Copilot Repository Indexing
Copilot can index your GitHub repositories to provide codebase-aware suggestions. This indexing happens on GitHub's infrastructure. You can exclude specific repositories from indexing, but the feature requires code to be processed by GitHub's systems. Content exclusions help limit exposure for sensitive repositories.
Choose Cody When: You need self-hosted deployment, air-gapped environments, or maximum control over your code intelligence. Cody's Sourcegraph integration provides powerful code understanding that stays in your infrastructure. Best for enterprises with strict compliance requirements, defense contractors, or organizations that can't send code to external services.
Choose Copilot When: You're invested in the GitHub ecosystem and trust Microsoft's enterprise security. Copilot's deep GitHub integration provides seamless experience across coding, pull requests, and actions. Best for teams using GitHub as their primary platform who are comfortable with cloud processing under Microsoft's security practices.
Model Flexibility
Cody's Model Options
Cody supports multiple AI model providers including Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, and others. Enterprise customers can choose models based on their security and capability requirements. This flexibility means you can select providers whose data handling policies match your needs or even use different models for different use cases.
Copilot's OpenAI Models
Copilot uses OpenAI models exclusively, with code processed through Azure OpenAI Service. You can't switch to different model providers. This simplifies the privacy picture (one provider to evaluate) but limits flexibility if you have specific model provider requirements or want to avoid certain vendors.
Enterprise Privacy Guarantees
Cody Enterprise
Sourcegraph Enterprise with Cody provides contractual privacy guarantees including no training on customer code, data isolation, and custom retention policies. Self-hosted deployments add architectural guarantees beyond contractual ones. Organizations can achieve true data sovereignty with on-premise Sourcegraph installation.
Copilot Enterprise
GitHub Copilot Enterprise provides no-training guarantees, content exclusions, audit logs, and organizational policy controls. These are strong commitments, but they're policy-based rather than architectural. You're trusting GitHub/Microsoft to honor their commitments rather than having technical controls that make violations impossible.
Best Practices for Both Tools
- Use enterprise tiers for any commercial code
- Configure exclusions for sensitive repositories and files
- Review generated code for security vulnerabilities
- Document your organization's AI tool policies
- Enable audit logging and review periodically
- Consider self-hosted Cody for maximum control
- Train developers on appropriate use of AI tools
Can Cody work completely offline?
Self-hosted Cody with Sourcegraph can operate within your network without internet access. However, AI model inference typically requires cloud APIs unless you also run local LLMs. Consult Sourcegraph about fully air-gapped deployments with local model support.
Does Copilot see all my private repositories?
Copilot only accesses repositories you actively work in, not your entire GitHub organization. You can exclude specific repositories from Copilot features. However, enabled repositories do have their code processed by Copilot's cloud infrastructure.
Which tool has better codebase understanding?
Cody's Sourcegraph integration provides deeper code intelligence including cross-repository code graph understanding. Copilot's repository indexing is improving but currently offers less comprehensive codebase awareness. For large, complex codebases, Cody's Sourcegraph foundation is an advantage.
Is Cody more expensive than Copilot for enterprises?
Pricing varies based on deployment model and organization size. Self-hosted Sourcegraph with Cody requires infrastructure investment beyond license costs. Evaluate total cost including infrastructure, maintenance, and the value of privacy controls for your specific requirements.
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