GitHub Copilot - Advanced Features

Overview

Estimated time: 20–30 minutes

Master advanced GitHub Copilot features including Copilot Chat, CLI integration, enterprise capabilities, and sophisticated coding workflows that go beyond basic autocomplete.

Learning Objectives

• Use GitHub Copilot Chat for interactive coding assistance
• Leverage Copilot CLI for command-line productivity
• Understand enterprise features and administration
• Implement advanced prompting strategies for complex tasks

Prerequisites

• Basic GitHub Copilot usage (see introduction)
• Familiarity with VS Code or preferred IDE
• Understanding of software development workflows

GitHub Copilot Chat

Activating Chat

Advanced Chat Workflows

// Multi-step refactoring conversation
User: /explain this function and suggest improvements

Copilot: [Explains the function and suggests optimizations]

User: Apply the performance optimization you mentioned

Copilot: [Provides refactored code with explanations]

User: Now add comprehensive error handling

Copilot: [Adds try-catch blocks and validation]

GitHub Copilot CLI

Installation & Setup

# Install GitHub CLI extension
gh extension install github/gh-copilot

# Authenticate with GitHub
gh auth login

# Verify installation
gh copilot --version

CLI Commands

# Explain complex commands
gh copilot explain "find . -name '*.js' -exec grep -l 'useState' {} \;"

# Get command suggestions
gh copilot suggest "compress all images in current directory"

# Git workflow assistance
gh copilot suggest "create a new branch and switch to it"

# Complex git operations
gh copilot explain "git rebase -i HEAD~3"

Enterprise Features

Copilot Business & Enterprise

Content Exclusion

// .gitignore patterns for Copilot
{
  "github.copilot.advanced": {
    "inlineSuggestCount": 3,
    "listCount": 10
  },
  "github.copilot.enable": {
    "*": true,
    "yaml": false,
    "plaintext": false
  }
}

Advanced Prompting Strategies

Context-Rich Prompts

// ✅ Provide comprehensive context
/**
 * E-commerce product search API endpoint
 * Requirements:
 * - Full-text search across name, description, tags
 * - Filter by category, price range, availability
 * - Sort by relevance, price, rating, date
 * - Pagination with cursor-based approach
 * - Rate limiting: 100 requests/minute per API key
 * - Response format: JSON with products array and pagination metadata
 */
async function searchProducts(searchParams) {
  // Copilot generates comprehensive implementation
}

Multi-File Context

# Reference related files for better context
# This service integrates with UserRepository (./repositories/user_repo.py)
# and EmailService (./services/email_service.py)
# Follow the established error handling patterns from BaseService

class UserRegistrationService:
    def __init__(self, user_repo, email_service):
        # Implementation follows established patterns

Performance Optimization

Suggestion Quality

Workspace Configuration

// .vscode/settings.json
{
  "github.copilot.enable": {
    "*": true,
    "yaml": true,
    "plaintext": false
  },
  "github.copilot.advanced": {
    "secret_key": "off",
    "length": "medium"
  },
  "github.copilot.editor.enableAutoCompletions": true
}

Integration Patterns

Code Review Workflow

1. Write initial implementation with Copilot
2. Use /explain to understand generated code
3. Use /doc to add comprehensive documentation
4. Use /tests to generate test cases
5. Refine based on Copilot suggestions
6. Submit for human review

Collaborative Development

Common Pitfalls

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Checks for Understanding

Exercises