Create applications with the Copilot CLI

Learn to use GitHub Copilot CLI—a standalone terminal application—for issue management and building a Node.js calculator application.

Welcome

• Who is this for: Developers who want to learn how to use the standalone GitHub Copilot CLI to streamline their development workflow

• What you'll learn: How to install and use GitHub Copilot CLI as a standalone terminal tool for creating issues, generating code, and collaborating interactively from the command line

• What you'll build: A Node.js calculator app using Copilot CLI for project setup, issue management, and collaborative development

• Prerequisites:

  • Familiarity with basic command line (CLI) operations
  • Basic knowledge of GitHub repositories
  • Node.js version 22 or later (for Copilot CLI installation)
  • A GitHub Copilot subscription (Pro, Pro+, Business, or Enterprise)

• How long: This exercise takes less than 60 minutes to complete.

In this exercise, you will:

1. Learn to install the standalone Copilot CLI and use an issue template
2. Use Copilot CLI to create an issue for a Node.js calculator app from an existing template
3. Practice iterative development by working together with Copilot on the command line

What's New in Copilot CLI

GitHub Copilot CLI is a standalone terminal application with exciting features:

• Latest AI models: Access the newest models from OpenAI and Google
• Custom agents: Create specialized agent personas for your workflows using .github/agents/
• /delegate command: Delegate tasks to Copilot coding agent which works autonomously
• /share command: Save chat sessions as Markdown files or GitHub gists
• Better image support: Add images via paste and drag-and-drop
• MCP server support: Integrate with Model Context Protocol tools
• Improved reliability: Better handling of long-running commands and enhanced automation with headless -p mode

How to start this exercise

Simply copy the exercise to your account, then give your favorite Octocat (Mona) about 20 seconds to prepare the first lesson, then refresh the page.

Having trouble? 🤷

When copying the exercise, we recommend the following settings:

• For owner, choose your personal account or an organization to host the repository.

• We recommend creating a public repository, since private repositories will use Actions minutes.

If the exercise isn't ready in 20 seconds, please check the Actions tab.

• Check to see if a job is running. Sometimes it simply takes a bit longer.

• If the page shows a failed job, please submit an issue. Nice, you found a bug! 🐛

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