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Course Outline

From Autocomplete to Agent: Understanding the Shift

  • Differences between Copilot suggestions and agentic multi-step planning
  • The agent loop architecture: plan, generate, execute, and iterate
  • Language support and model selection for agent tasks
  • Real-world examples: progressing from five-line functions to multi-file features

Enabling Agent Mode in Your IDE

  • Activation procedures in VS Code, JetBrains, and Neovim
  • Configuring context window size and model tier preferences
  • Setting workspace rules and ignoring large binary files
  • Managing workflows between Copilot Chat and inline agents

Multi-Step Planning and Execution

  • Prompting Copilot to build a feature end-to-end
  • Observing how the agent breaks tasks into steps across multiple files
  • Reviewing each step before applying changes
  • Using inline rollback capabilities when steps deviate

Terminal Commands Inside the Agent Loop

  • Installing dependencies via Copilot’s terminal integration
  • Running build commands and interpreting their output
  • Managing environment variables directly within Copilot sessions
  • Safety boundaries: identifying commands that require manual approval

Test-Driven Development with an Agent

  • Generating unit tests from existing source code
  • Driving test creation using natural language prompts
  • Running test suites and interpreting failure logs inside Copilot
  • Refining assertions after observing edge-case failures

Navigating Large Codebases

  • Automatically finding cross-file references
  • Refactoring shared utilities with Copilot-guided renames
  • Updating configuration and schema files simultaneously
  • Avoiding context window exhaustion through targeted prompts

Customizing Copilot for Team Standards

  • Writing repository-specific instructions in .github/copilot-instructions.md
  • Enforcing naming conventions and architecture patterns
  • Excluding sensitive files and directories from the context
  • Creating team-specific prompt templates for common tasks

GitHub Copilot Enterprise Governance

  • Seat allocation, billing, and usage dashboards
  • Audit logs: tracking what Copilot generated versus what was committed
  • Microsoft IP indemnity policies and licensing implications
  • Blocking specific file patterns from AI suggestion pipelines

Debugging with Agent Mode

  • Analyzing stack traces alongside the agent
  • Hypothesis-driven debugging: asking Copilot why a test failed
  • Using agent-assisted bisect to locate regression sources
  • Managing hallucination risks when debugging unfamiliar code

Performance and Limit Management

  • Understanding daily request limits and model quotas
  • Optimizing prompt length to avoid truncated responses
  • Switching between models for different tasks
  • Monitoring agent latency and caching strategies

Security and Compliance for Enterprises

  • Data handling: what leaves your repository and what stays local
  • Preventing leakage of secrets and credentials via prompts
  • Compliance with GDPR, SOC 2, and FedRAMP requirements
  • Red-teaming generated code for injection vulnerabilities

Troubleshooting Common Scenarios

  • Reasons why Copilot may ignore your codebase context
  • Resolving indexing failures for large repositories
  • Handling rate limit errors during peak hours
  • Fixing IDE extension sync issues

Summary and Future Roadmap

  • Recap of Agent Mode capabilities and practical workflows
  • GitHub's Copilot roadmap and upcoming agent features
  • Resources for staying current with Copilot releases

Requirements

  • Experience with object-oriented or functional programming
  • A GitHub account and fundamental knowledge of Git workflows
  • Familiarity with at least one Integrated Development Environment (IDE) such as VS Code, JetBrains, or Neovim

Audience

  • Developers currently using Copilot who aim to unlock agent mode capabilities
  • Engineering managers overseeing the deployment of Copilot across development teams
  • Security teams reviewing policies for AI-assisted code generation
 21 Hours

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