GitHub Copilot: the perfect Code compLeeter?
Not on the map. Why?
Abstract (arXiv)
This paper aims to evaluate GitHub Copilot's generated code quality based on the LeetCode problem set using a custom automated framework. We evaluate the results of Copilot for 4 programming languages: Java, C++, Python3 and Rust. We aim to evaluate Copilot's reliability in the code generation stage, the correctness of the generated code and its dependency on the programming language, problem's difficulty level and problem's topic. In addition to that, we evaluate code's time and memory efficiency and compare it to the average human results. In total, we generate solutions for 1760 problems for each programming language and evaluate all the Copilot's suggestions for each problem, resulting in over 50000 submissions to LeetCode spread over a 2-month period. We found that Copilot successfully solved most of the problems. However, Copilot was rather more successful in generating code in Java and C++ than in Python3 and Rust. Moreover, in case of Python3 Copilot proved to be rather unreliable in the code generation phase. We also discovered that Copilot's top-ranked suggestions are not always the best. In addition, we analysed how the topic of the problem impacts the correctness rate. Finally, based on statistics information from LeetCode, we can conclude that Copilot generates more efficient code than an average human.
Key facts. Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 5 of its 17 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 17 Jun 2024.
Builds on
5 of 17 references.
References · 5
- 2021Evaluating Large Language Models Trained on Codecited by 8,053
- 2021Asleep at the Keyboard? Assessing the Security of GitHub Copilot's Code Contributionscited by 417
- 2022GitHub Copilot AI pair programmer: Asset or Liability?cited by 150
- 2022Piloting Copilot, Codex, and StarCoder2: Hot Temperature, Cold Prompts, or Black Magic?cited by 14
- 2022To What Extent do Deep Learning-based Code Recommenders Generate Predictions by Cloning Code from the Training Set?cited by 11
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Citing papers per year: 2024: 1; 2025: 2; 2026: 1.
4 papers.
- 2025Go Beyond Your Means: Unlearning with Per-Sample Gradient Orthogonalizationcited by 7
- 2024Programming with AI: Evaluating ChatGPT, Gemini, AlphaCode, and GitHub Copilot for Programmerscited by 5
- 2026Scaling Small Agents Through Strategy Auctionscited by 3
- 2025The Role of GitHub Copilot on Software Development: A Perspective on Productivity, Security, Best Practices and Future Directionscited by 1
- 2026Scaling Small Agents Through Strategy Auctions2 Feb 2026
- 2025Go Beyond Your Means: Unlearning with Per-Sample Gradient Orthogonalization4 Mar 2025
- 2025The Role of GitHub Copilot on Software Development: A Perspective on Productivity, Security, Best Practices and Future Directions18 Feb 2025
- 2024Programming with AI: Evaluating ChatGPT, Gemini, AlphaCode, and GitHub Copilot for Programmers14 Nov 2024