Here’s some links that might help you as you start working more with GitHub Copilot. This pairs with the GitHub Fundamentals course I’m teaching this year. The three main refs I like to point to during the class are Refactoring code (GitHub Docs), Modernizing legacy code with GitHub Copilot (GHD), and this interesting rewrite of a Perl script to Typescript.

And on the advanced topics – see the links below around GitHub MCP Server, Prototyping, and Custom Instruction Files. OMG, such good stuff…

Refactoring Code

• Github has an excellent cookbook that has outstanding prompt suggestions. Things like improving code readability, performance, refactoring data access layers – the works.
• Probably the best aspect is the ability to refactor, as you go, without interrupting your flow. Another good reference by Github here walks us through it.
• For performance optimization, I love this article in the perf optimization section of the cookbook.
• Now for some Microsoft links – the Azure Developer blog discusses how to analyze and suggest improvements around a selected block of code.

Testing

• GitHub’s docs around testing are excellent. Testing is like eating your vegetables – we all could do more of it, yet we don’t! That kind of tedious, repetitive work is exactly what Copilot excels at.
• MSLearn has a nice series around building a better test suite, end to end. I especially loved this blog article around testing. It’s comprehensive and covers best practices so well.
• How can Copilot help with debugging, exception handling and testing? A very nice video, about 11 minutes long, from Harshada Hole from the Visual Studio team.

Documentation

• Generate Documentation Using GitHub Copilot Tools – Microsoft Learn
• How to Write Documentation with Copilot Suggestions (Video)
  

Deployment and Operations

• A great walkthrough from GH on building secure, repeatable automation pipelines.
• There’s MSLearn stuff around building infra too. But I like this blog article as a starting point.

Instruction Files and Custom Responses

• On custom responses, this is a great walkthru on personal / repo / org level instruction files. Here’s another link on using repository custom instructions to configure Copilot code review- Using GitHub Copilot code review.
• A great video on this same topic is here – about 10 minutes in the presenter assigns an issue to copilot which then takes it on as a pr and fixes it while she is offline.  Whoa!!! https://youtu.be/FvR1b0nNoJA?si=OFf87P2R933_ZvGv
  

MCP Server

• A full list (curated by GitHub) of MCP Servers. Very similar (if not parallel?) to Microsoft’s. Starting here to show what’s possible wouldn’t be a bad idea for a demo.
• GitHub’s MCP Server. Repository Management, PR automation, CI/CD workflow intelligence to analyze build failure. A simple extension in VS Code -if allowed by policy. (walk thru text here). There’s a list of installs for other MCP hosts (Windsurf, Cursos, Jetbrains, VS, Eclipse, Claude). For more documentation if you’re getting stuck on authentication with remote servers, see this link.
• Starting out, follow this example from GH. A very detailed walkthru that should get you to where you can use GitHub’s remote MCP server for Copilot – things like creating a new issue, listing pull requests, etc. Walks you through Oauth / PAT authentication as well.
• If you are a video learner, I like this 10 minute overview from Andrea Griffiths / Toby Padilla.

Translation

• Converting code between programming languages with Copilot
• What about migrating an entire project to a different language? Yeah we can do that too…

Prompt Engineering

• A Beginner’s Guide to Prompt Engineering with GitHub Copilot
• A developer’s guide to prompt engineering and LLMs
• GPT best practices
• Introduction to prompt engineering
• … and I have to call this out as I think bespoke, one-off instruction files are very 1.0 – there’s a very good and curated set of prompts out as VS Code extensions. It’s outstanding.

Prototyping and Proofs of Concept

• I love James Montemagno and this video on how Copilot in Agent mode can build an entire app – using only his voice – is pretty compelling. And while you’re there check out his tips/tricks 20 minute video, it’s a must watch.
• Prototyping and Vibe Mode (barf) programming with Copilot is actually a thing.  https://github.blog/ai-and-ml/github-copilot/from-prompt-to-production-building-a-landing-page-with-copilot-agent-mode/ – Spark takes this next level (think Lovable type ease of development with a single prompt, no-code) – but for Enterprise programmers this is an outstanding walkthrough of how to build an entire website, piece by piece, using Copilot. Powerful stuff.
  
   

Other Stuff

• A terrific end to end series of Copilot exercises from Paula Silva. I love this and it even includes a management dashboard to show specific improvements in velocity to justify adoption.
• And the MSLearn hub here has a great fundamentals course.
• Blog: How to use GitHub Copilot: Prompts, tips, and use cases
• Blog: 8 things you didn’t know you could do with GitHub Copilot
• Video: Solving big problems with GitHub Copilot
• Video: Get Started with the Future of Coding: GitHub Copilot
• Video: GitHub Copilot tips and tricks
• Automated Test Case Generation
• GitHub Copilot Updates