In this learning module, we’ll explore the benefits of using GitHub Copilot, the first-ever AI developer tool designed to operate at scale. Copilot enhances your coding experience by assisting with tasks like testing, refactoring, explaining, and suggesting code.
GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant that helps you write code faster and with less effort, freeing up more time and energy for problem-solving and collaboration.
By the module's conclusion, you will not only be able to articulate what GitHub Copilot is and its advantages but also comprehend its availability for individuals and businesses. Gain insights into the future of GitHub Copilot, and dive into hands-on exercises to master its utilization with Visual Studio Code.
By leveraging Copilot, developers have been able to boost productivity and accelerate software development. For more insights, check out the GitHub blog post Research: Quantifying GitHub Copilot’s Impact on Developer Productivity and Happiness.
Note: Although this module uses Codespaces, you can use GitHub Copilot in a variety of other environments, including locally with Visual Studio Code.
- Who this is for: Developers, DevOps Engineers, Software development managers, Testers.
- What you'll learn: How to install Copilot into a Codespace, accept suggestions from code, accept suggestions from comments.
- What you'll build: C# files that will have code generated by Copilot AI for code and comment suggestions.
- Prerequisites: GitHub Copilot is available to use for free, sign up for GitHub Copilot.
- Timing: This course can be completed in under an hour.
By the end of this module, you'll be able to:
- Explain what GitHub Copilot is and the advantages it provides.
- Understand the availability of GitHub Copilot for individuals and Businesses.
- Discuss the future of GitHub Copilot.
- Learn how to get started using GitHub Copilot and some common configurations.
- Develop using GitHub Copilot with Visual Studio Code using hands-on exercises.
- Introduction to GitHub Copilot
- What is GitHub Copilot? (Video playlist below)
Now that you've learned about GitHub Codespaces and GitHub Copilot, let's take the next step and use Codespaces to complete hands-on labs with GitHub Copilot. Right-click Open in GitHub Codespaces and open the link in a new tab.
| Lesson Link | Concepts Taught | Learning Goal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leverage Codespaces with VS Code for Copilot | Learn how to set up and enable GitHub Copilot within a Codespace using VS Code by configuring a development container and installing necessary extensions. | This guide enable developers to leverage GitHub Codespaces and VS Code to integrate and utilize GitHub Copilot for AI-powered code suggestions efficiently. |
| 02 | Seeing AI code suggestions in a C# file! | Setting up a Codespace with GitHub Copilot, creating a C# project, using Copilot for code suggestions, and pushing code to a repository using Git. | Familiarize users with GitHub Copilot's AI-powered code suggestions in C# by creating a .NET project, generating code completions, and pushing changes to a repository using Git. |
| 03 | View the GitHub Copilot tab with multiple suggestions | Learn how to use GitHub Copilot for AI-powered code suggestions in C#, manage a Codespace, pull the latest code, create and edit files, review AI-generated code completions, and push changes to a Git repository using Git commands in VS Code. | Familiarize users with GitHub Copilot’s code suggestions, how to review and accept AI-generated completions, and how to manage code changes in a GitHub Codespace using Git commands. |
| 04 | Using comments to generate code with Copilot | Understand how to use GitHub Copilot to generate code from comments, navigating Copilot suggestions, and managing code versioning with Git commands in a Codespace environment. | Using comments to generate AI-suggested code with GitHub Copilot in VS Code |
- What is GitHub Copilot
- About enterprise accounts for Copilot Business
- Getting started with Copilot
- Configure Copilot settings
- We'd love to hear what you thought of this course.
- Learn another GitHub skill.
- Read the Get started with GitHub docs.
- To find projects to contribute to, check out GitHub Explore.
Get help: Post in our discussion board • Review the GitHub status page