Audience: Developers, DevOps Engineers, Tech Leads | Total Duration: ~2 hours core + ~55 min optional | Pre-requisites: GitHub Copilot access, GitHub CLI, Python 3.11+, VS Code with GitHub Copilot Chat extension
A fully automated developer workflow around the Help Desk CRM — a realistic customer support ticketing system built with FastAPI and SQLAlchemy. You will use GitHub Copilot CLI, custom agents, GitHub Actions, the Copilot SDK, and Copilot debugging tools to automate every phase of the development lifecycle.
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Customer Management | Full CRUD for customer records |
| Ticket Management | Create, assign, and resolve support tickets with severity levels |
| Role-Based Assignment | Assign tickets to Developer, Test Engineer, or DevOps roles |
| RESTful API | Auto-documented endpoints via FastAPI + Swagger UI |
| Layered Architecture | Routes → Services → Repositories → Models |
The application code lives in CanarysPlayground/Help_Desk_Application. Copilot agents do the heavy lifting — your job is to learn how to direct them.
- VS Code with the GitHub Copilot Chat extension
- Python 3.11+
- Git CLI
- GitHub CLI (
gh) - GitHub Copilot CLI extension
- GitHub Copilot subscription (Individual, Business, or Enterprise)
| # | Exercise | Copilot Feature | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Install GitHub CLI & Authenticate | GitHub CLI + Copilot CLI extension | 10 min |
| 02 | Clone Repository & Set Up Environment | Git, Python venv | 10 min |
| 03 | Generate Custom Project Instructions | copilot-instructions.md |
10 min |
| 04 | Create a Custom CLI Coding Agent | /agent command |
15 min |
| 05 | Plan the Ticket Assignment Feature | /model, /plan |
15 min |
| 06 | Delegate Implementation & Review PR | /context, /delegate, Draft PR |
15 min |
| 07 | Generate CI & CD Workflows | GitHub Actions + Copilot CLI | 15 min |
| 08 | Generate Self-Healing Workflow & Trigger Failure | workflow_run trigger |
15 min |
| 09 | Observe & Analyse Self-Healing | Copilot CLI + Actions logs | 10 min |
| 10 | Review Self-Healing PR & Verify Recovery | Copilot CLI + PR merge | 10 min |
These exercises are self-contained. Complete them if time allows or revisit them after the workshop.
| # | Exercise | Copilot Feature | Duration | Prerequisite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Build PR Summarizer Agent — SDK Setup | Copilot SDK + GitHub API | 15 min | Ex 10 |
| 12 | Test & Automate the PR Summarizer | Copilot SDK + GitHub Actions | 15 min | Ex 11 |
| 13 | Debug: Introduce Bugs & Diagnose | gh copilot explain, gh copilot suggest |
15 min | Ex 06 |
| 14 | Debug: Fix, Validate & Commit | @terminal, VS Code Inline Chat /fix |
10 min | Ex 13 |
Help_Desk_Application/
├── .github/
│ ├── copilot-instructions.md ← Exercise 03
│ └── workflows/
│ ├── ci.yml ← Exercise 07
│ ├── cd.yml ← Exercise 07
│ ├── issue-automation.yml ← Exercise 07
│ ├── self-healing.yml ← Exercise 08
│ └── copilot-pr-summarizer.yml ← Exercise 12
├── agents/
│ └── pr_summarizer/
│ ├── config.py ← Exercise 11
│ ├── copilot_analyzer.py ← Exercise 11
│ ├── github_integration.py ← Exercise 11
│ └── agent.py ← Exercise 11
├── app/
│ ├── models/ticket.py ← Modified Exercise 06
│ ├── schemas/ticket.py ← Modified Exercise 06
│ ├── api/ticket_routes.py ← Modified Exercise 06
│ └── services/ticket_service.py ← Modified Exercise 06 & 14
└── tests/ ← Updated Exercise 06
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Copilot CLI | AI-assisted terminal commands and code generation from the shell |
| Custom CLI Agent | Domain-specific agent via /agent with scoped instructions |
/plan |
Pre-execution planning before Copilot takes action |
/delegate |
Full implementation delegation with auto-created GitHub PR |
/context |
Token usage monitoring and context window management |
| GitHub Actions | CI, CD, issue automation, and self-healing workflow generation |
| Self-Healing Workflow | Auto-detects broken builds, applies fixes, opens PR |
| Copilot SDK | Programmatic AI analysis of pull requests with comment posting |
gh copilot explain |
Plain-English decoding of error messages and stack traces |
gh copilot suggest |
Shell investigation commands from natural language |
VS Code Inline Chat /fix |
Targeted line-level repairs with full file context |
- Click "Use this template" → "Create a new repository"
- Set the owner to your GitHub account, enter a name (e.g.,
cli-agents-workshop), and click "Create repository" - Clone the repository locally and open it in VS Code
- Start with Exercise 01 — Install GitHub CLI & Authenticate
- Create Applications with the Copilot CLI
- Integrate MCP with Copilot
- E2E AI SDLC with GitHub Copilot
- Expand Your Team with the Copilot Coding Agent
Note: Complete the Core Track (Ex 01–10) first — each exercise builds on the previous one. Optional exercises (Ex 11–14) are independent and can be done in any order after their listed prerequisite.
Instructor Note: Each exercise has copy-paste prompts — attendees never write code from scratch. Debrief after each exercise by reviewing the generated files before proceeding.