VS Code with GitHub Copilot Chat in Agent mode, with the AI Power Tools for Sparx EA tools enabled next to the installed extension.
Working with EA in VS Code using the AI Power Tools extension and skills
GitHub Copilot + AI Power Tools

What it is

GitHub Copilot is GitHub’s AI assistant in Visual Studio Code. AI Power Tools for Sparx EA (opens in a new tab) gives it the same connection to the live Enterprise Architect model and the same library of skills it gives Claude. The difference is where you work and which AI model does the work: Copilot can use any model your plan allows, including Claude and models from other vendors, or your own API key.

You work in Copilot Chat in VS Code with Enterprise Architect open beside it. Copilot does the work in the model and you review what changed. VS Code has no computer use today, so you open EA and look at the diagrams yourself when a task calls for it.

Who it is for

Architects who already work in VS Code with GitHub Copilot, often beside the code and configuration the architecture describes, and organizations that want the choice of AI model without a Claude subscription.

The job

What it helps you do

  • Modeling

    Hand over a spreadsheet, inventory or document and get the elements, relationships and diagrams built in your modeling language. Set up or derive your MDG Technology without hand-editing XML.

  • Analysis

    Ask what depends on a system before you change it, what changed since a baseline, and what a change would touch across the model and the files you give it.

  • Governance

    Run your rules against the whole model or one package and get the findings grouped by rule. Take a baseline before a bulk change so it can be rolled back.

  • Stakeholder Engagement

    Build the reporting database and Power BI reports from the model in your stakeholders’ vocabulary.

Choosing it

When GitHub Copilot + AI Power Tools is the right choice

Choose it when your architects already live in VS Code with Copilot, or when you want the choice of AI model. The AI cost rides on a Copilot subscription your organization may already hold, and AI Power Tools is free.

Today VS Code has no computer use, so Copilot cannot open EA, read its dialogs or look at a diagram in EA’s window. If you want the assistant to do that, look at Claude + AI Power Tools. A team that wants single sign-on and an audit trail of AI use should look at Kernaro AI Hub alongside it.

You need a GitHub Copilot plan your organization permits and an Enterprise Architect license from Sparx Systems. On Copilot Business and Enterprise, an administrator has to switch on tool use before it works.

Compare all the AI options for Sparx EA 
Teach it, or set it up

How we help

  • Set it up on your repository

    We set GitHub Copilot and AI Power Tools up for your repository and modeling language, work through the Copilot policy with your IT team, and prove the first tasks on your own model.

    Configure the solution 

  • Train and mentor your architects

    The Foundations course with GitHub Copilot teaches your architects to work this way on your own repository and standards, inside the editor they already use. We mentor them until it sticks.

    The course 

  • Sparx Office Hours

    A standing session where your team brings what they are stuck on and sees how others solved it.

    Ask about Office Hours 
Questions

GitHub Copilot + AI Power Tools: common questions

Does GitHub Copilot get the same skills as Claude?
Yes. The same skills work in VS Code. They are written and tested for Claude models, and other models may follow them less reliably.
What is different from Claude + AI Power Tools?
The connection and the skills are the same. Copilot works in VS Code and can use models from several providers. Claude works in the Claude desktop app and can open EA and check diagrams in its window through computer use, which VS Code does not have today.
What do we need to pay for?
GitHub Copilot, through your organization's Copilot plan or your own API key, and an Enterprise Architect license from Sparx Systems. AI Power Tools is available to all Sparx users free of charge.
Where do I get the AI Power Tools extension for VS Code?
From NovoCircle. Start at the AI Power Tools for Sparx EA product page (opens in a new tab).
Where can I get the documentation for AI Power Tools for GitHub Copilot?
On the NovoCircle site, in the AI Power Tools for Sparx EA documentation (opens in a new tab).
Is the AI Power Tools extension built by Sparx Systems?
No. AI Power Tools for Sparx EA is a community-developed resource published by NovoCircle, available to all Sparx users free of charge. Sparx Services is a NovoCircle practice, independent of Sparx Systems Pty Ltd.
Do we need an administrator to switch it on?
On Copilot Business and Enterprise, yes. GitHub says: "The policy is disabled by default." We plan this with your IT team when we configure the solution.
Does GitHub train its models on what Copilot sees from our repository?
Not on Copilot Business or Enterprise. GitHub says: "GitHub does not use Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise customer data to train AI models." On individual plans, GitHub says it "may use your interactions with GitHub features and services" "to train and improve AI models", and individuals can turn this off.

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