Coding with GitHub Copilot Micro-Credential

Coding with GitHub Copilot Micro-Credential

Duration: 4 Hours

Description

GitHub Copilot has grown well past inline autocomplete, and most developers are still only using the part it launched with. This session covers the full range: comment-driven generation, Copilot Chat for in-editor Q&A and refactors, agent mode for changes that span multiple files, and the autonomous coding agent that can pick up an issue and open a pull request on its own. Participants practice steering suggestions instead of just accepting or rejecting them, and leave with a working sense of when Copilot speeds things up and when it’s faster to just write the code yourself.

Audience

This session is for working developers already writing code day to day, not beginners learning to program. It’s aimed at anyone using GitHub for version control who wants Copilot to do more than autocomplete — including developers who’ve tried it briefly, gotten mixed results, and stopped, since most of the value covered here is past the default inline-suggestion experience.

Objectives

  • Understand GitHub Copilot’s capabilities and setup, including MCP-connected tools
  • Generate and refine code using inline suggestions and natural-language comments
  • Utilize Copilot Chat and agent mode for debugging, refactoring, and unit test automation
  • Apply Copilot’s coding agent, command-line usage, and pull request summaries in a real workflow

Prerequisites

Participants should have basic programming experience in at least one modern language (e.g., Python, JavaScript, Java) and familiarity with Git and GitHub workflows. No prior AI experience is required.

Related AI Courses

See the full AI training roadmap and course directory for how this fits into a broader learning path.

Using a different assistant? See Coding with Claude Micro-Credential or Coding with Gemini Code Assist Micro-Credential instead. Looking for Microsoft 365 Copilot rather than the coding assistant? See Supercharge Your Productivity with Microsoft Copilot Micro-Credential. Ready for a deeper, multi-day treatment of AI-assisted development practice and discipline? See Vibe Coding: AI-Assisted Development.

Course Outline

Module 1: The Foundations

  • What is GitHub Copilot?
  • Writing Code with Inline Suggestions
  • Commanding the AI with Comments

Module 2: Practical Applications and Workflows

  • Copilot Chat
  • Refactoring and Improving Existing Code
  • Debugging and Finding Issues
  • Automating Unit Tests

Module 3: Advanced Concepts and Project Work

  • The Copilot Coding Agent: From Issue to Pull Request
  • Copilot for the Command Line and MCP-Connected Tools
  • Pull Request Summaries
  • Lab – End-to-End AI Assisted Development