Your friendly terminal tutor — learn GitHub Copilot CLI by doing, not reading! 🐙✨
Copilot CLI Quick Start is a Copilot CLI skill that teaches you how to use GitHub Copilot CLI — interactively, right inside your terminal. No docs to read. No videos to watch. Just you and a friendly AI tutor that walks you through everything step by step. 🎓
It features two learning tracks so everyone can learn at their own pace:
- 🧑💻 Developer Track — terminal shortcuts, file mentions, custom instructions, MCP, and more
- 🎨 Non-Developer Track — writing, task planning, understanding code, and getting summaries
Designed for absolute beginners. Even if you've never touched a terminal, we've got you! 🫶
- GitHub Copilot CLI installed (
brew install copilot-cliornpm install -g @github/copilot) - An active Copilot subscription
Clone the repo and copy the skill to your personal skills directory:
git clone https://github.com/DUBSOpenHub/copilot-cli-quickstart.git
mkdir -p ~/.copilot/skills
cp -r copilot-cli-quickstart/.github/skills/copilot-cli-quickstart ~/.copilot/skills/Then in a Copilot CLI session, run /skills reload to pick it up.
Clone the repo and start Copilot CLI from inside it:
git clone https://github.com/DUBSOpenHub/copilot-cli-quickstart.git
cd copilot-cli-quickstart
copilotThe skill at .github/skills/copilot-cli-quickstart/ is automatically discovered.
That's it! You're ready. 🎉
> start tutorial
The tutor asks if you're a Developer or Non-Developer, then walks you through the right lessons:
| # | Lesson | What You'll Learn |
|---|---|---|
| 🏠 S1 | Welcome & Verify | Orientation, confirm CLI is working |
| 💬 S2 | Your First Prompt | Talk to Copilot in plain English |
| 🎮 S3 | The Permission Model | YOU are always in control |
| # | Lesson | What You'll Learn |
|---|---|---|
| 🎛️ D1 | Slash Commands & Modes | / powers, Shift+Tab, ! shortcut |
| 📎 D2 | File Mentions with @ | Point Copilot at specific files |
| 📋 D3 | Planning with /plan | Break tasks into steps before coding |
| ⚙️ D4 | Custom Instructions | Make Copilot work YOUR way |
| 🚀 D5 | Advanced | MCP servers, skills, models |
| # | Lesson | What You'll Learn |
|---|---|---|
| 📝 N1 | Writing & Editing | Use Copilot as your writing assistant |
| 📋 N2 | Task Planning | Break down projects with /plan |
| 🔍 N3 | Understanding Code | Read code without writing it |
| 📊 N4 | Summaries & Extraction | Get key info from any document |
> what does /compact do?
> how do I switch models?
> what's the difference between plan mode and interactive mode?
Ask anything about Copilot CLI and get a clear, beginner-friendly answer with examples! 💡
| Without this skill | With this skill |
|---|---|
| 📖 Read long docs | 🎮 Learn by doing |
| 😰 Intimidating terminal | 🎉 Fun and friendly |
| 🤷 "Where do I start?" | 📍 Guided step by step |
| 👤 One-size-fits-all | 🛤️ Dev & Non-Dev tracks |
| 📝 Take notes | 🧠 Progress tracked for you |
| 😐 Solo learning | 🤝 Interactive exercises |
flowchart TD
USER["👤 User"] --> SKILL["🧠 SKILL.md<br/>Lesson content & rules"]
SKILL --> AGENT["🤖 agent.md<br/>Persona & tool config"]
AGENT --> SQL["🗄️ SQL<br/>Progress tracking"]
AGENT --> DOCS["📚 fetch_docs<br/>Live documentation"]
AGENT --> ASK["🙋 ask_user<br/>Interactive exercises"]
PRD["📋 PRD<br/>Design & diagrams"] -.-> SKILL
CAT["📦 catalog.yml<br/>Metadata"] -.-> SKILL
copilot-cli-quickstart/
├── .github/
│ ├── CODEOWNERS ← 👑 Code ownership rules
│ ├── ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ ← 🐛 Bug, feature, & lesson templates
│ ├── PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md ← 📝 PR checklist
│ ├── dependabot.yml ← 🤖 Automated dependency updates
│ └── skills/
│ └── copilot-cli-quickstart/
│ └── SKILL.md ← 🧠 Skill file (required path for /skills add)
├── agents/
│ ├── copilot-cli-quickstart.agent.md ← 🤖 Agent config
│ └── copilot-cli-quickstart.md ← 📋 PRD (Product Requirements Doc)
├── skills/
│ └── copilot-cli-quickstart/
│ ├── SKILL.md ← 🧠 The brain — canonical skill source
│ └── catalog.yml ← 📋 Camp Air catalog metadata
├── .gitignore
├── CHANGELOG.md ← 📋 Version history
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md ← 🤝 Contributor Covenant
├── CONTRIBUTING.md ← 🛠️ How to contribute
├── LICENSE ← 📄 MIT
├── SECURITY.md ← 🔒 Security policy
├── TESTING.md ← 🧪 Conversation playbooks & QA
└── README.md ← 👋 You are here!
See SECURITY.md for our security policy and how to report vulnerabilities.
This repo has Dependabot alerts and automated security updates enabled. 🛡️
Symptom: Skill doesn't appear in /skills list or isn't activating.
Fixes:
- ✅ Check skill location — The
SKILL.mdfile must be in either~/.copilot/skills/copilot-cli-quickstart/SKILL.md(personal) or.github/skills/copilot-cli-quickstart/SKILL.md(project, auto-discovered when youcdinto the repo). - ✅ Reload skills — Run
/skills reloadin your Copilot CLI session after copying files. - ✅ Verify CLI version — Run
copilot --versionoutside the CLI session. Update if needed:brew upgrade copilot-cliornpm update -g @github/copilot.
Symptom: "Copilot not enabled" or authentication errors when trying to use the CLI.
Fixes:
- ✅ Verify subscription — Check github.com/settings/copilot to confirm you have an active Copilot subscription (Individual, Business, or Enterprise).
- ✅ Re-authenticate — Run
copilot auth logoutthencopilot auth loginoutside the CLI session. Follow the browser login flow. - ✅ Check permissions — For organizations, confirm your org admin has enabled Copilot for your account. Check with your GitHub admin if unsure.
Symptom: Copilot keeps asking "Allow", "Deny", or "Allow for session" and I'm not sure which to choose.
Explanation:
- ✅ Allow — Copilot performs this action once, then asks again next time.
- ❌ Deny — Copilot won't do this action. Totally safe! Nothing bad happens if you deny.
- 🔄 Allow for session — Copilot can do this type of action for the rest of this session without asking again. Use this to speed up repetitive tasks (e.g., if it's creating multiple files).
Pro tip: When learning, use "Allow" (not "Allow for session") so you see what Copilot does each time. You can always deny — Copilot respects your choice! 🎮
Symptom: Typing @ doesn't show files or autocomplete doesn't work.
Fixes:
- ✅ Be in a directory with files — File mentions (
@filename) only work when you're in a directory that contains files. Navigate to a project folder first:cd ~/my-project. - ✅ Use full paths if needed — If autocomplete isn't working, type the full path:
@/path/to/file.jsor@./relative/file.js. - ✅ Check Copilot CLI version — File mentions require Copilot CLI v1.5.0+. Run
copilot --versionto check.
Symptom: Commands don't work as expected on Windows.
Fixes:
- ✅ Use PowerShell or Windows Terminal — Copilot CLI works best with PowerShell 7+ or Windows Terminal (not legacy cmd.exe).
- ✅ Path separators — Use forward slashes
/or escape backslashes\\in paths. Copilot CLI normalizes paths, but Windows tools may be picky. - ✅ Run as user (not admin) — Run Copilot CLI as your regular user. Admin mode can cause permission issues with Git and npm.
Got ideas to make this tutor even better? 🎨 See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide!
Quick ways to help:
- 🐛 Report a bug
- 💡 Suggest a feature
- 📚 Propose a lesson
- ✏️ Fix a typo — just open a PR!
See TESTING.md for conversation playbooks and QA checklists.
MIT — use it, share it, remix it! 🎶
Made with 💜 by DUBSOpenHub to help more people discover the joy of GitHub Copilot CLI.
Happy learning! 🚀✨