🎯 What You'll Learn | 🤖 Copilot Family | 📚 Course Structure | ✅ Prerequisites | 🚀 Quick Start | 📋 Quick Reference | 📖 Glossary
Learn to supercharge your development workflow with AI-powered command-line assistance.
This hands-on course takes you from zero to productive with GitHub Copilot CLI. By the end, you'll confidently use AI to review code, generate tests, debug issues, and automate workflows: all from your terminal.
No AI experience required. If you can use a terminal, you can learn this.
Perfect for: Developers, students, and anyone who has experience with software development.
This course is designed for:
- Software Developers who want to use AI from the command line
- Terminal users who prefer keyboard-driven workflows over IDE integrations
- Teams looking to standardize AI-assisted code review and development practices
GitHub Copilot CLI brings AI assistance directly to your terminal. Instead of switching to a browser or code editor, you can ask questions, review code, generate tests, and debug issues without leaving your command line.
Think of it as having a knowledgeable colleague available 24/7 who can read your code, explain confusing patterns, and help you work faster.
GitHub Copilot has evolved into a family of AI-powered tools. Here's where each one lives:
| Product | Where It Runs | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot CLI (this course) |
Your terminal | Terminal-native AI coding assistant |
| GitHub Copilot | VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, etc. | Agent mode, chat, inline suggestions |
| Copilot on GitHub.com | GitHub | Immersive chat about your repos, create agents, and more |
| GitHub Copilot coding agent | GitHub | Assign issues to agents, get PRs back |
This course focuses on GitHub Copilot CLI, bringing AI assistance directly to your terminal.
| Chapter | Title | What You'll Build |
|---|---|---|
| 00 | 🚀 Quick Start | Installation and verification |
| 01 | 👋 First Steps | Live demos + three interaction modes |
| 02 | 🔍 Context and Conversations | Multi-file project analysis |
| 03 | ⚡ Development Workflows | Code review, debug, test generation |
| 04 | 🤖 Create Specialized AI Assistants | Custom agents for your workflow |
| 05 | 🛠️ Automate Repetitive Tasks | Skills that load automatically |
| 06 | 🔌 Connect to GitHub, Databases & APIs | MCP server integration |
| 07 | 🎯 Putting It All Together | Complete feature workflows |
Before starting, ensure you have:
✅ GitHub account: Create one free
✅ GitHub Copilot access: Free offering, Monthly subscription, or Free for students/teachers
✅ Terminal basics: Comfortable with cd, ls, running commands
Can't wait? Run this in your terminal right now:
# Install (choose one)
npm install -g @github/copilot # All platforms
brew install copilot-cli # macOS/Linux
winget install GitHub.Copilot # Windows
# Start and authenticate
copilot
> /login
# See the magic
copilot -p "Explain what GitHub Copilot CLI can do for developers"Want more details? Head to Chapter 00 for the full quick start experience.
Each chapter follows the same pattern:
- Real-World Analogy: Understand the concept through familiar comparisons
- Core Concepts: Learn the essential knowledge
- Hands-On Examples: Run actual commands and see results
- Assignment: Practice what you learned
- What's Next: Preview of the following chapter
Code examples are runnable. Every copilot text block in this course can be copied and run in your terminal.
Need a cheat sheet? The Quick Reference Card has all commands, syntax, and workflows on one page.
A PDF version is also available: QUICK-REFERENCE.pdf
The Quick Reference can be automatically updated using Copilot CLI itself:
npm install
# Update content by scanning docs with Copilot, then generate PDF
npm run refresh
# Or run steps separately:
npm run update:reference # Uses Copilot CLI to scan docs and update content
npm run generate:pdf # Generates PDF from markdown- 🐛 Found a bug? Open an Issue
- 🤝 Want to contribute? PRs welcome!
- 📚 Official Docs: GitHub Copilot CLI Documentation
Ready? Let's see what GitHub Copilot CLI can do!
Begin with Chapter 00: Quick Start →
Quick reference for technical terms used throughout this course. Don't worry about memorizing these now - refer back as needed.
Key terms: Agent | Context Window | Token | MCP | Skill | OWASP | WCAG