Learn how to make the most of GitHub Copilot across its different interfaces—autocomplete, inline, chat modes, and Agent mode. Discover when to use each feature, how to guide Copilot effectively, and how to unlock its full potential for both quick fixes and complex, multi-file tasks.

What is GitHub Copilot?

What can Copilot really do?

Exploring GitHub Copilot modes

Highlight, prompt, done

No edits, just ideas

Inline, Ask, or Edit? You decide

Introducing Agent Mode

What sets Agent Mode apart

Wait, what is Copilot asking?

Getting Started with GitHub Copilot

Enhance Copilot’s accuracy by guiding it with context, chat variables, and expert participants. Learn to combine these features with slash commands and smart actions to streamline debugging, code reviews, and project navigation. Gain practical techniques that transform Copilot into a more reliable and efficient coding partner.

Guiding Copilot with context

Just add #context

Let’s walk Copilot through it

Adding domain expertise

Who should you ask?

You asked, Copilot answered

Working efficiently with Copilot

Guess who suggested that

Let Copilot do the testing

The Science of Context

Learn how to shape Copilot’s behavior with custom instructions and model selection. Define coding standards, enforce project or organization-wide conventions, and choose the right AI model for speed, reasoning, or multi-file tasks. Gain control over how Copilot adapts to your workflow.

Customizing Copilot

Typed, documented, and on brand

What makes a good instruction?

Selecting and switching models

Match the model to the task

Different models, different powers

Wait, does this model cost more?

Extending Copilot with MCP tools

Suddenly, Copilot can do more

What just happened behind the scenes?

Customizing and Extending Copilot

Go beyond everyday Copilot usage. Learn to generate comprehensive test suites, identify and fix security vulnerabilities, and optimize code performance.

Testing and code quality with Copilot

Quick tests or custom prompt?

Options

Use /tests

Provide detailed context

How would you prompt Copilot?

The integration testing workflow

Building tests that span components

Security with GitHub Copilot

Targeted review

Codebase scan

Custom instructions

Matching the right security approach

The security workflow

From vulnerability to prevention

Preventing bad patterns

Performance optimization with GitHub Copilot

Speed prompt

Memory prompt

What are you optimizing for?

The diagnostic workflow

Diagnosing a slow endpoint

Congratulations!

Applied Copilot: Testing, Security, and Performance

GitHub Copilot is more than a smart autocomplete—it's an AI coding assistant that helps you understand, write, and improve code with ease. In this course, you'll explore Copilot in Visual Studio Code, from autocomplete suggestions to inline edits and chat-based modes, and discover how to use each effectively for tasks ranging from quick fixes to multi-file refactoring. You'll learn how to provide the right context through chat variables, participants, and progressive prompting, while also streamlining your workflow with slash commands and smart actions. You'll shape Copilot's behavior with custom instructions and model selection, tailoring it to project standards or team conventions. Finally, you'll put it all together by using Copilot to generate test suites, catch security vulnerabilities, and optimize performance. By the end, you'll have the skills to turn Copilot into a powerful coding partner—boosting productivity, reducing errors, and writing code that's not just faster, but better.

Master GitHub Copilot to understand, write, and refine code with context, customization, and smart features.

Software Development with GitHub Copilot

AI for Software Engineering

"Optimize #selection to reduce its time complexity"

"Suggest a caching strategy for this frequently called function"

"Rewrite this to batch API calls instead of making them one at a time"

"Review #selection for resource leaks and missing cleanup"

"Replace this in-memory data load with a streaming approach"

"Add context managers for all database connections in #file:db.py"

What are you optimizing for?

Software Development with GitHub Copilot

Hands-on interactive exercise