Exercise: Create applications with the Copilot CLI

[github-actions]

Create applications with the Copilot CLI

👋 Hey there @ifabrish! Welcome to your Skills exercise!

Let's get you started with GitHub Copilot CLI! We will learn how to use it for issue management and building a Node.js calculator app 🚀

---

✨ This is an interactive, hands-on GitHub Skills exercise!

As you complete each step, I’ll leave updates in the comments:

• ✅ Check your work and guide you forward
• 💡 Share helpful tips and resources
• 🚀 Celebrate your progress and completion

Let’s get started - good luck and have fun!

_{— Mona}

_{If you encounter any issues along the way please report them here.}

[github-actions]

Step 1: Install Copilot CLI and Use the Issue Template

Duck prefers working in the terminal and wants to use AI from there.
Duck is getting ready to develop a new Node.js CLI calculator app and plans to install the standalone Copilot CLI to build the application from the terminal.

📖 Theory: GitHub Copilot CLI - A Standalone Terminal Application

What is GitHub Copilot CLI?

GitHub Copilot CLI is a standalone terminal application that brings the power of GitHub Copilot directly to your command line. It is installed via npm and provides a rich interactive experience for developers.

Key capabilities and options to be aware of include:

• Providing intelligent command suggestions powered by the latest AI models from OpenAI and Google
• Generating code snippets and scripts directly in your terminal
• Assisting with Git operations and GitHub interactions
• Supporting image inputs via paste and drag-and-drop for visual context
• The --enable-all-github-mcp-tools flag enables all GitHub MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools, giving Copilot CLI access to GitHub features like creating issues, managing repositories, and more.
• Depending on your Copilot CLI configuration (for example, if you don't use the --allow-all option), you may be prompted to enable certain features during the session. Respond yes to these prompts as well.
• /session: Shows details about your current chat session.
• /context: Provides a visual overview of your current token usage
• /usage: Lets you view your session statistics, including:
  • The amount of premium requests used in the current session
  • The session duration
  • The total lines of code edited
  • A breakdown of token usage per model
• /share [file|gist] [path] - Share session to Markdown file or GitHub gist
• Creating custom agents to encode specialized prompts and workflows
• Delegating tasks to Copilot coding agent using the /delegate command

Global shortcuts

 @             mention files, include contents in context
 Esc           cancel the current operation
 !             execute command in your local shell (bypass Copilot)
 ctrl+c        cancel operation / clear input / exit
 ctrl+d        shutdown
 ctrl+l        clear the screen
 shift+tab     switch between plan mode and regular interactive mode

Installation Requirements

To install Copilot CLI, you need:

• Node.js version 22 or later
• npm version 10 or later
• An active GitHub Copilot subscription (Free, Pro, Pro+, Business, or Enterprise)

Issue Templates

Issue templates help maintain consistency when team members create issues. This repository already has a feature_request.md template that you'll use to create your calculator app issue. Templates ensure:

• All necessary information is captured upfront
• Issues follow a standard format
• The team can triage and respond to issues more efficiently

References

• Installing GitHub Copilot CLI
• Using GitHub Copilot CLI
• GitHub Copilot CLI 101

Important

If you have restarted your codespace you may need to run copilot --allow-all and then authenticate with GitHub again by running !gh auth login in your terminal,
or use /login from within the Copilot CLI session.

⌨️ Activity 1: Getting to know your development environment

1. Right-click the below button to open the Create Codespace page in a new tab.

   

   • The free tier of Codespaces that comes with all GitHub accounts is fine, assuming you still have minutes available.
   • The default Codespace settings are fine.

Important

This Codespace VS Code environment has been simplified to focus on using the Copilot CLI in the terminal. You'll primarily be working with terminal commands rather than the full VS Code feature set.

1. Confirm the Repository field is your copy of the exercise, not the original, then click the green Create Codespace button.

   • ✅ Your copy: /ifabrish/Baha
   • ❌ Original: /arilivigni/create-applications-with-the-copilot-CLI

2. Wait a moment for Visual Studio Code to load.

3. We will be focused on the full terminal window since this is all about the CLI.

⌨️ Activity 2: Install the Standalone Copilot CLI

1. Open your Codespace (if not already open)

2. Install the standalone GitHub Copilot CLI by running in the terminal window:

   

   npm install -g @github/copilot

3. Verify the installation by running:

   

   copilot --version

Tip

After installation, you can use the copilot command anywhere in your terminal to start an interactive session!

⌨️ Activity 3: Create an Issue Using Copilot CLI

1. Start an interactive Copilot CLI session:

   

   copilot --enable-all-github-mcp-tools

Note

When starting Copilot CLI, you may be prompted to add this folder to the trusted folder list and to key bindings. Respond yes to both prompts to continue.

2. Authorize with GitHub (if not already authenticated) in the Copilot CLI:

   

   /login
   

Note

After running /login, you will be provided with a link and an authentication code. Click the link to open GitHub in your browser, then enter the code to complete the authentication process.

3. Explore useful slash commands in Copilot CLI:

   • View your current session information:

     

     /session
     

   • View your current context information:

     

     /context
     

   • View your current usage information:

     

     /usage
     

Note

• /session: Command shows details about your current chat session.
• /context: Provides a visual overview of your current token usage
• /usage: Lets you view your session statistics, including:
  • The amount of premium requests used in the current session
  • The session duration
  • The total lines of code edited
  • A breakdown of token usage per model

4. Ask Copilot CLI to help you create a feature request issue for the calculator app:

   

   Create a GitHub issue for a Node.js CLI calculator app using the following template
   .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md template and make sure the issue is in a
   markdown format that contains "calculator" in the title and follows the format of
   the issue template.
   I want to request a feature for basic arithmetic operations including
   - addition
   - subtraction
   - multiplication
   - division
   The calculator should be implemented in calculator.js
   Create the issue directly in the current owner in this session
   and repository on github.com using the `gh` CLI commands.
   List the issue link when complete
   

5. Mona should already be busy checking your work. Give her a moment and keep watch in the comments. You will see her respond with progress info and the next lesson.

Note

Copilot CLI may ask to confirm creating the issue and using gh issue and git config.
Respond yes to creating the issue and
"Yes, and approve gh issue or git config for the rest of the running session".

Having trouble? 🤷

• Make sure you have Node.js 22+ installed: node --version
• If npm install fails, try: sudo npm install -g @github/copilot
• Make sure you have GitHub Copilot access enabled for your account
• If authentication fails, run copilot and run /login
• You can also create the issue through the GitHub UI if needed

[github-actions]

Please, follow the steps above.
I'll watch your progress in the background to provide feedback. 🧐

[ifabrish]

Step 1 - Fail ❌

Some checks failed. Please review the results below and try again.

Time to find the bug! 🤔

Status	Description
❌ - Fail	Issue title contains 'Calculator' keyword
✅ - Pass	Issue has description/body content