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Exercise 01 — Installing Your IDE & GitHub Copilot

Duration: 5 minutes
Copilot Feature: GitHub Copilot Setup & Chat Participants Overview
Goal: Install a supported IDE, set up GitHub Copilot, understand the data flow, and learn how chat participants work.

Background

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant that offers inline code completions, a chat interface, and autonomous agents. It is available to individual developers, teams, enterprises, and students via GitHub accounts with an active subscription or free trial.

What you need:

  • GitHub account (github.com/signup)
  • Active Copilot subscription or free trial
  • Supported IDE (VS Code recommended)

Step 1 — Install Visual Studio Code

  1. Go to https://code.visualstudio.com and download the installer for your operating system (Windows / macOS / Linux).
  2. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
  3. Launch VS Code once the installation is complete.

Already installed? Make sure you are on VS Code 1.90 or later (Help → About to check). Earlier versions may not support the latest Copilot Chat features.

Step 2 — Install the GitHub Copilot Extensions

GitHub Copilot in VS Code requires extensions:

Extension Purpose
GitHub Copilot Chat Chat panel, agents, inline chat

Installation steps:

  1. Open Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X).
  2. Install GitHub Copilot Chat (publisher: GitHub).
  3. Reload VS Code if prompted.

Both extensions are bundled in the latest VS Code releases. If you see them already listed under "Installed", skip this step.

Step 3 — Sign In to GitHub Copilot

  1. After installation, a GitHub Copilot icon (the Copilot logo) will appear in the bottom-right status bar.
  2. Click the icon (or open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P and run "GitHub Copilot: Sign In").
  3. VS Code will open a browser window asking you to authorise GitHub Copilot.
  4. Sign in with your GitHub account and click Authorize.
  5. Return to VS Code — the status bar icon should now show a green check or the Copilot logo without an error indicator.

No licence yet? Visit github.com/features/copilot and activate a free trial before signing in.

Step 4 — Verify the Setup

  1. In any file, type def greet(name): and confirm an inline suggestion appears; press Tab to accept.
  2. Open Copilot Chat (Ctrl+Alt+I / Cmd+Option+I), type Hello!, and confirm you get a response.

If both work, you are ready for the workshop.

Step 5 — Understanding Data Flow & Chat Participants

This mini activity is designed for a fresh setup, even if you have no project files yet.

  1. Open Copilot Chat (Ctrl+Alt+I / Cmd+Option+I).
  2. Try @vscode with this prompt: @vscode How do I split the editor into two side-by-side panes?
  3. Open the terminal(Ctrl+~) and run a simple command:
    • Windows: get-Date
    • macOS/Linux: date
  4. Ask @terminal: @terminal Explain the last command output in simple words.

What to Notice

  • @vscode explains IDE usage and shortcuts.
  • @terminal explains commands and terminal output.

Data Flow

  1. You type a prompt.
  2. The selected participant receives it.
  3. Copilot processes based on that participant's specialty.
  4. The response appears in chat.

In Exercise 05, you will create custom agents that behave like specialized participants.

Key Takeaway

GitHub Copilot is not just an autocomplete tool — it is an AI pair programmer with a chat interface and agent capabilities. The remaining exercises in this workshop build on top of each other to show you how to use it across the full software development lifecycle.

Next: Exercise 02 — Working with GitHub Copilot: Chat Participants