# GitHub Copilot in SSMS 22 vs. a Local 7B Model Extension: An Honest Comparison

> Source: <https://dev.to/mosyi_99c4f2/github-copilot-in-ssms-22-vs-a-local-7b-model-extension-an-honest-comparison-3lie>
> Published: 2026-11-05 05:18:45+00:00

**TL;DR** Copilot in SSMS 22 now has a "bring your own model" option — but the provider list is locked (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, Azure, Foundry Local), it still needs a GitHub account, and background services keep calling the Copilot API. A local extension connects to *any* OpenAI-compatible server (LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM), needs zero accounts, and works on SSMS 21 *and* 22. Here's an honest side-by-side — including the things Copilot does better.

Full disclosure up front: **I built the local extension** ([Arman AI Assistant](https://github.com/Fargo4u/ssms-ai-assistant)), so weigh my judgment accordingly. The Copilot facts below come from [Microsoft's own documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ssms/github-copilot/overview) — if anything here is out of date, tell me in the comments and I'll correct it with credit.

Credit where it's due: this is no longer a toy. Copilot in SSMS ships as the **AI Assistance** workload in the Visual Studio Installer, and per Microsoft's docs you now get:

`/doc` to document, explain, fix, or optimize T-SQL
It's a serious product. There's also **BYOM — "bring your own model"**: in the chat's model picker, choose **Manage Models** and add a model with your own API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, or Azure — plus **Foundry Local**, Microsoft's local runtime and the one genuinely offline route.

That's real progress. **Foundry Local** deserves a proper mention: it runs ONNX models on your own hardware through Microsoft's runtime, so "local" is genuinely achievable — it just means picking from Microsoft's catalog rather than your own download folder. Now the fine print — because there's a gap between "bring your own model" and "bring your own server."

`http://localhost:1234/v1`, so LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM and llama.cpp don't connect directly. Whatever coder model you already have downloaded is out of reach unless Foundry Local happens to ship it. That distinction sounds cosmetic until you actually run it: the whole point of LM Studio and Ollama is that the model, the weights and the traffic belong to nobody but you.
[Arman AI Assistant](https://github.com/Fargo4u/ssms-ai-assistant) is an open-source (MIT, no telemetry) VSIX that turns SSMS into a plain client for any OpenAI-compatible server. It doesn't try to be Copilot — it's a schema-aware chat panel plus a set of database workflows. It also deliberately skips things: no ghost-text autocompletions, no autonomous agent mode. A scoped toolset keeps even a small 7B model useful instead of ambitious. Where it differs:

`PARSEONLY` pre-check before execution, runtime errors trigger an auto-fix loop, and DDL is idempotent-only. The model can propose; it can't casually wreck your schema.`.sqlplan` viewer; |  | Copilot in SSMS 22 | Local extension (Arman) | 
|---|---|---|
| Install | VS Installer workload | VSIX from Releases | 
| Account | GitHub + Copilot access | None | 
| Model freedom | Fixed list + Foundry Local | Any OpenAI-compatible server | 
| LM Studio / Ollama / vLLM | ✗ | ✓ | 
| Fully offline | Only via Foundry Local | Always | 
| Agent mode (autonomous, MCP) | ✓ — 22.7+ | ✗ — focused toolset | 
| Inline autocompletions | ✓ — 22.2+ | ✗ — chat + tools | 
| Works on SSMS 21 | ✗ | ✓ | 
| Executed-SQL guardrails | Approval-based | PARSEONLY + auto-fix + idempotent DDL | 
| DMV evidence | You can prompt for it | One-click Tune Query flow | 
| Background API calls | Even with BYOM (per docs) | Nothing leaves the machine | 
| Cost | Free tier (limited) / paid plans | $0, MIT | 

Read that table as "different priorities," not "winner." Copilot wins the top half; the local route wins the bottom half.

If that's you, honestly — use it. It's good, and it's improving monthly.

Repo: [github.com/Fargo4u/ssms-ai-assistant](https://github.com/Fargo4u/ssms-ai-assistant) — and if you want the backstory, including the two nastiest bugs I hit while connecting a local model to SSMS, I wrote about it in [my earlier post](https://dev.to/mosyi_99c4f2/i-put-a-local-7b-model-inside-ssms-21-22-no-cloud-no-api-keys-ii).

If you try it and hit anything weird, open an issue — that's the fuel this project runs on. And if you disagree with this comparison, say so in the comments. I'd genuinely like to know where I'm wrong.