GitHub Copilot CLI Hands-On: First Steps, Context, and Conversations

Hands-on intro to GitHub Copilot CLI where you'll run your first commands and learn to give it better context for actual coding help.

You'll work through three core chapters, starting with your first actual Copilot CLI commands run against a real coding project. The workshop covers the three interaction modes (Interactive, Plan, and Programmatic) and then focuses on the practical skill that makes AI assistance useful: giving Copilot better context using the @ syntax to work across files and directories. You'll learn how to carry conversations forward across multiple turns, which means you can ask follow-up questions and iterate rather than start from scratch each time. By the end, you'll be able to review code across multiple files, plan new projects, and generate both code and documentation. This is the first session in a four-part beginner course, so it's designed to build foundational skills you'll use in later workshops.