GitHub Copilot CLI Essentials for Developers

S08E17 - Context Is Everything: Getting the Most from GitHub Copilot with Joydip Kanjilal Software architect and Microsoft MVP Joydip Kanjilal joins Jamie to discuss GitHub Copilot and AI-assisted development — covering what Copilot actually is, why context is everything when prompting it, and the governance and training considerations for teams adopting it.

Over the past few months I've used Cursor, Claude Code, and GitHub Copilot side by side on the same projects. Each is pretty good at different things, but they share one annoying trait: every one of them wants to read your skills, slash commands, and rules from a different folder. After the third time I caught myself copy-pasting a skill between .cursor/, .claude/, and .github/ (and inevitably missing something), I built a small fix to keep the agents in sync. The idea is simple: - One canonical .agents/ folder at the root of your repo holds every skill, command, and rule. - A tiny sync script mirrors it into the exact paths each tool expects. - No symlinks (which break on Windows without Developer Mode and trip Cursor's symlink bug anyway), no runtime dependency, no git hooks. - Windows PowerShell and macOS/Linux bash are both supported. The repo ships with a small hello-world demo skill you can use to verify all three agents are picking up the same source, then delete once you're set up. If you're juggling multiple AI coding agents in a single workspace, this might save you an afternoon of frustration. MIT licensed and open to feedback. https://lnkd.in/gizgM_Nd #AI #DeveloperTools #OpenSource #Cursor #ClaudeCode

GitHub has introduced a new `gh skill` command in its CLI that makes it much easier to manage AI agent skills. With a simple command, developers can now discover, install, update, and publish skills directly from GitHub repositories, replacing manual setup with a streamlined, package-manager–like experience. On top of that, GitHub adds robustness features such as version pinning, immutable releases, and change detection based on Git metadata, helping ensure consistency, reproducibility, and security when sharing and evolving skills across teams. https://lnkd.in/dsha8y3K

GitHub has announced updates to its Copilot individual plans, signaling adjustments in how AI-powered coding tools are positioned for developers. These changes highlight the rapid evolution of AI in software development and the growing importance of flexible access models for developers worldwide. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gkMkK-NF #GitHub #Copilot #ArtificialIntelligence #SoftwareDevelopment #DeveloperTools #TechIndustry #Innovation #DigitalTransformation

You've been training GitHub's AI for free. Your code. Your prompts. Your late nights. All of it. On April 24, 2026, GitHub's new Copilot policy goes live. Every developer on Free, Pro, and Pro+ gets opted in automatically. No warning. No consent. No payment. Here's exactly what GitHub is collecting: → Every prompt you type into Copilot → Every suggestion you accept or modify → Your file names and folder structure → Code context around your cursor → Your comments and documentation → How you navigate between files → Every Copilot chat conversation you've had The worst part? It's opt-out — not opt-in. They're betting you won't notice until it's too late. How to stop it before April 24: Go to github -> settings -> copilot Find "Allow GitHub to use my data for AI model training" Set it to Disabled Do this for every GitHub account you own Copilot Business and Enterprise users — you're protected. Free, Pro, Pro+ users — you are the product. Tag a developer who needs to see this. #github #developers #webdevelopment

From Microsoft Mission Critical Blog articles, Getting Started with GitHub Copilot SDK, by anishekkamal "GitHub Copilot has been a staple in developer workflows for a while — it suggests code, completes functions, and generally keeps you from looking..." https://lnkd.in/eJ_Cn2Ym

Manage agent skills with GitHub CLI Agent skills are the new way to give your agents super abilities !! GitHub is launching gh skill, a new command in the GitHub CLI that makes it easy to discover, install, manage, and publish agent skills from GitHub repositories. Skills are portable, reusable packages of instructions, scripts, and resources that extend the specialized capabilities of AI agents. Unlike generic instructions, skills allow an agent to become a "specialist" in a specific domain—such as legal workflows, data analysis, or debugging—by bundling complex procedural knowledge into a modular format. https://lnkd.in/g_wvBcrs

🚀 New blog! Did you know you can use your OpenCode Go subscription with GitHub Copilot CLI? By configuring four environment variables, you can bring your own key and use models like Qwen, GLM, and Kimi directly from your terminal. In this blog, you will learn how you can bring your own keys (BYOK) to GitHub Copilot CLI, use models outside of the GitHub Copilot subscription, and make use of autopilot mode with models that are not available by default in GitHub Copilot. 🔗 Read the blog here: https://lnkd.in/e2-ah3TF Enjoy the read! #githubcopilot #githubcopilotcli #opencode #MVPBuzz #cloudmarathoner

From Microsoft Community Hub, Supercharge Your Dev Workflows with GitHub Copilot Custom Skills, by sachoudhury "The Problem Every team has those repetitive, multi-step workflows that eat up time: Running a sequence of CLI commands, parsing output, and..." https://lnkd.in/e_rtQdBQ

🚀 GitHub Copilot CLI is here — and it’s not just autocomplete anymore. This is agentic AI inside your terminal. It doesn’t just suggest code… it plans, executes, tests, and even ships. Here’s the simplest way to understand it 👇 ⸻ 💡 What it actually does Think of it as a coding assistant that can: • Read your repo • Plan changes • Write code • Run tests • Open PRs 👉 All from your terminal. ⸻ ⚙️ Get started quickly Install → Login → Run copilot That’s it. You’re in. ⸻ 🧠 Make it smarter (important) Add a file: .github/copilot-instructions.md Define your: ✔️ Tech stack ✔️ Naming conventions ✔️ Code standards Now it works your way, every time. ⸻ 🔄 Two powerful modes • Plan Mode → Think first, ask before acting • Autopilot Mode → Executes everything end-to-end ⚡ Pro tip: Start with Plan → Move to Autopilot ⸻ 🤖 Switch models anytime Use /model mid-session No restart. No friction. ⸻ 🔗 Works natively with GitHub You can literally say: 👉 “Review PR #42” And it will: • Analyze code • Detect issues • Suggest fixes ⸻ ⚡ Parallel execution with /fleet Run multiple tasks at once No waiting. Just results. ⸻ 🔌 Extend with MCP servers Connect: • APIs • Databases • Internal tools One config → unlimited capability ⸻ 🎯 Try this prompt: “CI is failing on integration tests. Find the root cause, fix it, run tests, and open a PR if it passes.” 👀 Then just watch what happens. ⸻ 💭 We’re moving from writing code… to managing outcomes. Are you ready to let AI handle your dev workflow?