Copilot CLI

Customize your environment

Supported locations (in order of discovery):

Location	Scope
~/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md	All sessions (global)
.github/copilot-instructions.md	Repository
.github/instructions/**/*.instructions.md	Repository (modular)
AGENTS.md (in Git root or cwd)	Repository
Copilot.md, GEMINI.md, CODEX.md	Repository

A community-created collection of custom agents, instructions, skills, hooks, workflows, and plugins to supercharge your GitHub Copilot experience. Awesome GitHub Copilot

configure allowed tools

To reset previously approved tools, use:/reset-allowed-tools

Use your own model provider

Run copilot help providers for full setup instructions.

This allows the CLI to access any file path, use any tool, and access any URL without prompting for confirmation. Use with caution, as it grants the CLI full access and automation capabilities.

1233

copilot --allow-all --enable-all-github-mcp-tools

plan mode

Press Shift + Tab to toggle between normal mode and plan mode. Alternatively, you can use the /plan command in normal mode to achieve the same effect.

/fleet

在plan mode中生成plan.md后使用/fleet执行plan

Monitoring progress

Use the /tasks slash command to see a list of background tasks relating to the current session. This will include any subtasks handled by subagents when you use the /fleet command.

Session

Add these functions to my existing calculator.js based on latest issue created:
1. modulo(a, b) - returns the remainder of a divided by b
2. power(base, exponent) - returns base raised to the exponent
3. squareRoot(n) - returns the square root of n with error handling for negative numbers

/session: Shows details about your current chat session.

/context: Provides a visual overview of your current token usage

/usage:Lets you view your session statistics,including:

• The amount of premium requests used in the current session
• The session duration
• The total lines of code edited A breakdown of token usage per model

/share [file|gist|html|research] [path]: Share session to Markdown file or GitHub gist

Use /clear or /new between unrelated tasks. 清空context

/session files 查看当前session中的临时生成的文件

使用 /compact 手动触发手动压缩

/session checkpoints [num] 查看某次压缩时,context的提炼内容

/rename: rename session

/resume: To continue previous work

/chronicle

generate standup reports, get personalized tips, and receive suggestions for improving your .github/copilot-instructions.md file.

• At the start of your day: Run /chronicle standup last 3 days to generate a reminder of what you worked on recently and the CLI session you were working in.

• Periodically, to level up: Run /chronicle tips every week or two to discover features and workflow improvements you might be missing.

• When Copilot keeps making the same mistake: Run /chronicle improve to identify the pattern and generate custom instructions to fix it.

• /chronicle reindex: Rebuilds the session store from your session history files.

Hands-on practice

Take flight with GitHub Copilot

Global shortcuts

 @             mention files, include contents in context
 Esc           cancel the current operation
 !             execute command in your local shell (bypass Copilot)
 ctrl+c        cancel operation / clear input / exit
 ctrl+d        shutdown
 ctrl+l        clear the screen, 不影响context
 shift+tab     switch between plan mode and regular interactive mode
 ctrl+y        预览plan mode下生成的plan.md,可以编辑此文件添加更多细节
 ctrl+o        在terminal中展开所有时间线,当terminal中没内容时等同于 ctrl+e

double Esc keypress: Rewind to a previous point If there's text in the input area, pressing Esc twice in quick succession clears the text. /undo rewind

Tips

Run shell commands

Enable remote control for a Copilot CLI session

Use the /keep-alive slash command to prevent your machine from going to sleep while you're away.

enable remote control /remote on

Connecting to VS Code

Managing the connection with the /ide slash command

To continue a CLI session in VS Code's integrated terminal, right-click the session in the Sessions view and choose Resume in Terminal. This is a quick way to pick up work from an external terminal window without losing any session context.

Hand off task

• Autopilot mode runs locally in your CLI session.
• /delegate or & pushes the task to Copilot cloud agent on GitHub.

Managing pull requests with the /pr command

manage-pull-requests

Automate with Actions

Authenticate

Customize Copilot CLI

Instructions

Copilot CLI supports:

• Repository-wide instructions in the .github/copilot-instructions.md file.
• Path-specific instructions files: .github/instructions/**/*.instructions.md.
• Agent files such as AGENTS.md.

For more information, see Adding custom instructions for GitHub Copilot CLI.

NOTE

• .github/copilot-instructions.md 定义代码与项目规范 (技术栈、架构、全局代码风格等)
• .github/instructions/**/*.instructions.md 对指定的文件或目录补充专属逻辑 (通过applyTo关键字指定)
• AGENTS.md 定义行为与任务 (主智能体在当前仓库下的角色扮演、特定工作流执行方式)

Hooks

For more information, see GitHub Copilot hooks reference

• Tool Guardian
• Session Logger
• Secrets Scanner

Skills

How do Agent Skills work?

Agents load skills through progressive disclosure, in three stages:

1. Discovery: At startup, agents load only the name and description of each available skill, just enough to know when it might be relevant.
2. Activation: When a task matches a skill's description, the agent reads the full SKILL.md instructions into context.
3. Execution: The agent follows the instructions, optionally executing bundled code or loading referenced files as needed.

• LSP server

reference: 读, 当条件触发时会将额外内容读取到context中 scripts: skill目录中如果使用到了scripts,当agent调用skill时,只会触发执行(需要在prompt中把代码的执行方式说清楚),并不会读取scripts的内容作为context,节省了token(哪怕你scripts中有数万行代码也没关系)

skill和mcp的区别: MCP connects claude to data; Skills teach Claude what to do with that data. skills能干大部分MCP的活, 但安全性和稳定性远不如MCP, skill适合轻量化的scripts, 大部分情况下是结合起来使用

MCP

Agents

Use custom agents

Custom agents configuration

GEM Multi-Agent Workflow

• Gem Orchestrator

• Gem Planner

• Gem Implementer

• Gem Debugger

• Gem Critic

• Gem Designer

• Gem Code Simplifier

• Gem Devops

• Gem Reviewer

• Gem Documentation Writer

• Gem Researcher

• Gem Skill Creator

Plugins

plugins market: awesome-copilot

installed path: ~/.copilot/installed-plugins/

Github Copilot CLI plugin reference

/plugin marketplace list

/plugin list
/plugin install PLUGIN-NAME@MARKETPLACE-NAME
/plugin uninstall PLUGIN-NAME

Copilot CLI reference

GitHub Copilot CLI command reference

Find commands and keyboard shortcuts to help you use Copilot CLI effectively.

/session

Agent Package Manager

docs: Agent Package Manager

agentrc

github: agentrc

prompt

git Create and push a new branch called 'create-calc-app'

IMPORTANT

If you have restarted your codespace you may need to run copilot --allow-all --enable-all-github-mcp-tools and then authenticate with GitHub again by running /login from within the Copilot CLI session.

Create

Create a README template

Create a README template for a new open-source project that includes sections for project description, installation instructions, usage examples, and contribution guidelines. Make it clear and easy to follow.

Triage and summarize repository activity

Summarize activity in this repository over the past week. Highlight anything that looks blocked or urgent, and suggest what I should prioritize.

Testing

Generating unit tests

/tests Generate unit tests for this function. Validate both success and failure, and include edge cases.

Updating unit tests to match code changes

Given the update to the `calculate_discount` function, update the unit tests that may fail or become outdated as a result.

Creating mock objects to abstract layers

/tests Create a unit test to ensure the service is called correctly. Mock the service object.

Creating end-to-end tests for a webpage

Using Playwright, generate an e2e test to ensure the product displays correctly.

Customization library

Custom instructions

Custom skills

Custom agents