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This is a WIP community resource, containing contribution from community members.

If you notice any bugs or suggestions for improvements, please report at https://github.com/se-edu/guides/issues
You are welcome to contribute by sending a PRs to https://github.com/se-edu/guides/pulls too.

AI Coding Tools: Using Copilot in GitHub

This section shows how to use GitHub Copilot directly within GitHub to help draft issues, review pull requests, and streamline your development workflow.

Pre-requisites

If you have not enabled Copilot in your GitHub account, follow the guide in the panel below:

Signing Up for GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an account-linked service that sits on top of your GitHub account. You need to enable it (via subscription or educational benefits) to use it. Given below are the steps:

Sign up for a GitHub Account, if you don't have one yet.
Fill in your billing information
- Go to the billing information for your GitHub account.
- Fill in only your billing information (Payment method and other details are not required).
- Click on Save billing information to save.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). You can skip this step if you have already done so.
- Go to the Two-factor authentication page for your GitHub account.
- Click on Enable two-factor authentication.
- Open the Microsoft Authenticator App on your phone.
- Tap the scan QR code button at the bottom right.
- Scan the QR code displayed on the GitHub page.
- Complete the remaining setup steps.
- You should see the following page when 2FA is enabled.
Link your university email to GitHub (for Education benefits).
- Go to the emails settings page in GitHub account.
- Add your university-issued email under the Add email address field.
- Verify your email using the link sent to your inbox.
- Once verified, you will see your school email in the list of emails.
Apply for GitHub Education benefits
- Go to the GitHub Education page.
- Click on Start an application.
- Select your role as Student.
- Choose university as your school (e.g., National University of Singapore).
- Follow the instructions and complete the application form.
- Once your application is approved, it will show that you have a current student coupon applied.

Contributors: Norbert Loh (@NorbertLoh )

Issue Creation

Go to your GitHub repository and create a new issue.
Click on Write with Copilot.
You'll be redirected to Copilot Chat within GitHub, where you can describe your issue.
Use the Attach button to link the relevant repository and provide more context to Copilot.
Describe your issue and ask Copilot to generate a checklist. For example: Fix the bug where the UI overflows when the number is too long, and include a checklist to ensure the bug is resolved.
Copilot will generate a structured issue, including a description, steps to reproduce, expected behaviour, and a checklist.
Click on Create to submit the issue.
Define a standard issue format for your team to ensure consistency across all issues.

Pull Request Creation Summary

Go to your GitHub repository and create a new pull request.
Click on the Copilot icon, then select Summary.
Copilot will generate a summary of the changes included in the pull request.
You can edit or add more details to the summary before submitting, if needed.

Pull Request Review

Open the pull request you want to review.
Hover over the specific line of code where you need assistance, then click on the Copilot icon.
A Copilot chat window will appear, allowing you to ask questions such as: How can I improve this line of code?
Use Copilot's suggestions to enhance your code review comments or make direct improvements.

Copilot is a helpful assistant, but not a full replacement for human code reviews. You will still need to identify potential issues before asking Copilot for suggestions.

Contributors: Norbert Loh (@NorbertLoh )