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Practical Examples

⚠️ MIGRATION NOTICE: These examples have been updated for the new standalone GitHub Copilot CLI (copilot), not the deprecated gh copilot extension.

Common Development Scenarios

1. Code Review and Analysis

With the new CLI, interactions are conversational within the copilot interface:

# Launch copilot in your project directory
cd /path/to/your/project
copilot

# Then use natural language prompts:
# "Review my staged changes for security issues"
# "Analyze the complexity of the authentication module"
# "Are there performance bottlenecks in this API?"

2. Debugging Help

# Launch copilot from your project root
copilot

# Natural language debugging:
# "I'm getting a TypeError in my Python script, can you help debug it?"
# "Explain this stack trace: [paste your stack trace]" 
# "The authentication function isn't working correctly, what could be wrong?"

3. Code Generation

# In copilot session:
# "Create a REST API endpoint for user authentication with JWT"
# "Generate unit tests for the User class"
# "Write a Python function to parse CSV files and handle errors"

4. Learning and Explanation

# In copilot session:
# "Explain how the authentication system works in this project"
# "What are the best practices for error handling in this codebase?"
# "Teach me about dependency injection with examples"

Configuration Examples

Setting Up Your Environment

# Install the new standalone CLI
npm install -g @github/copilot

# Set up authentication (PAT method)
export GH_TOKEN="ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

# Set preferred model
export COPILOT_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4  # or gpt-5

# Create shell aliases
echo 'alias cop="copilot"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'alias cop5="COPILOT_MODEL=gpt-5 copilot"' >> ~/.bashrc

Model Switching Workflows

# Start with default model (Claude Sonnet 4)
copilot
# Ask: "Give me an overview of this codebase"

# Exit and switch to GPT-5 for complex analysis
COPILOT_MODEL=gpt-5 copilot  
# Ask: "Design a new architecture for better scalability"

# Create aliases for easy switching
alias cop="copilot"
alias cop5="COPILOT_MODEL=gpt-5 copilot"

Workflow Integration Examples

Git Integration

The new CLI automatically detects your git context:

# Launch from your project directory
cd /path/to/your/project
copilot

# Natural language git workflows:
# "Generate a commit message for my staged changes"
# "Review what I've changed since the last commit"
# "Explain what happened in the last 5 commits"
# "Help me resolve this merge conflict"

Project-Based Development

# Always launch from your project root
cd /path/to/your/project
copilot

# The CLI automatically understands your project context:
# "Help me understand how this authentication system works"
# "Create tests for the payment processing module"
# "Review my recent changes for security issues"
# "Help me optimize the database queries in this project"

Documentation Workflows

# In your project directory
copilot

# Documentation tasks:
# "Create API documentation for the user endpoints"
# "Update the README with the new features I added"
# "Generate a changelog from my recent commits"
# "Write installation instructions for this project"

Advanced Use Cases

Architecture Planning

# In your project directory
copilot

# Architecture discussions:
# "Help me design a microservices architecture for this e-commerce platform"
# "What database schema would work best for this application?"
# "How can I optimize this system for high load?"

Security Analysis

# Security-focused sessions
copilot

# Security queries:
# "Review this authentication system for security vulnerabilities"
# "Are there any security issues in my user registration flow?"
# "Help me create security guidelines for this project"

Code Migration

# Migration assistance
copilot

# Migration tasks:
# "Help me convert this Python Flask app to FastAPI"
# "What would this JavaScript code look like in TypeScript?"
# "Guide me through migrating from MySQL to PostgreSQL"

Team Collaboration Examples

Code Review Workflows

# Launch copilot in the project with pending changes
copilot

# Collaborative review tasks:
# "Summarize the changes I made for my team"
# "Review this code and suggest improvements"  
# "What should I tell reviewers about these changes?"

Knowledge Sharing

# Knowledge transfer sessions
copilot

# Knowledge sharing:
# "Create onboarding documentation for new developers on this project"
# "Document why we chose this architecture approach"
# "Create a tutorial for using this authentication system"

Productivity Shortcuts

Aliases and Functions

Add to your .bashrc or .zshrc:

# Quick aliases for the new CLI
alias cop="copilot"
alias cop5="COPILOT_MODEL=gpt-5 copilot"
alias copb="copilot --banner"

# Set default model
export COPILOT_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4

# Authentication
export GH_TOKEN="your-personal-access-token"

# Useful functions
function cophelp() {
    echo "GitHub Copilot CLI Commands:"
    echo "  cop     - Launch with default model (Claude Sonnet 4)"
    echo "  cop5    - Launch with GPT-5"
    echo "  copb    - Launch with banner"
    echo ""
    echo "Within copilot:"
    echo "  /help      - Show available commands"
    echo "  /login     - Authenticate with GitHub"
    echo "  /feedback  - Submit feedback"
}

function copauth() {
    echo "Setting up Copilot authentication..."
    echo "1. Create PAT at: https://github.com/settings/personal-access-tokens/new"
    echo "2. Add 'Copilot Requests' permission"
    echo "3. Set: export GH_TOKEN=\"your-pat-here\""
}

Development Integration

# Project-specific workflows
function copproject() {
    cd /path/to/your/project
    echo "Launching Copilot in project: $(basename $(pwd))"
    copilot
}

# Model-specific launches
function copgpt5() {
    echo "Launching Copilot with GPT-5..."
    COPILOT_MODEL=gpt-5 copilot
}

function copclaude() {
    echo "Launching Copilot with Claude Sonnet 4..."
    COPILOT_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4 copilot
}

# Quick checks
function copcheck() {
    echo "Checking Copilot CLI setup..."
    echo "Node.js: $(node --version)"
    echo "npm: $(npm --version)"
    echo "Copilot: $(copilot --version 2>/dev/null || echo 'Not installed')"
    echo "Auth token: ${GH_TOKEN:+Set} ${GH_TOKEN:-Not set}"
    echo "Model: ${COPILOT_MODEL:-Default (Claude Sonnet 4)}"
}

Error Handling Examples

Common Issues and Solutions

# Installation issues
npm install -g @github/copilot  # Reinstall if needed
node --version  # Ensure version 22+

# Authentication problems
export GH_TOKEN="your-pat-here"
copilot
# Use /login command for OAuth

# Model availability
COPILOT_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4 copilot  # Try default model
COPILOT_MODEL=gpt-5 copilot           # Try alternative model

# General troubleshooting session
copilot
# Ask: "I'm having trouble with [describe your issue], can you help troubleshoot?"

Migration from Old CLI

# Remove old extension
gh extension remove github/gh-copilot

# Clear old configuration (optional)
rm -rf ~/.config/gh/copilot/

# Install new CLI
npm install -g @github/copilot

# Set up authentication
export GH_TOKEN="your-pat-with-copilot-requests-permission"

# Test installation
copilot --version
copilot --banner  # First launch with banner

⚠️ Note: Many advanced features from the old CLI are being reimplemented. Check the official repository for the latest feature updates and migration guides.