A command‑line interface (CLI) is simply a place where you type commands to interact with software. Copilot’s CLI builds on that familiar workflow by letting you tell the AI what you want to do—such as writing a Bash script or explaining what a Git command does—and then confirming before it runs the commands. For example, you might ask Copilot to “create a Bash script to check for uncommitted changes and push if clean,” and it will draft the script, explain its actions and wait for your confirmation before running it.

Copilot CLI also integrates with GitHub’s Mission Control Platform so that you can connect domain‑specific tools or bring more context from your environment into the AI’s responses. This setup allows for custom workflows and context‑aware suggestions.

Copilot CLI operates in two modes:

• Interactive mode: you start a session with the copilot command and have a back‑and‑forth conversation, refining tasks as you go.

• Programmatic mode: you issue one‑off commands using the -p flag or the longer prompt flag. Copilot responds inline and still asks for confirmation before reading, modifying or executing files.

In both modes, you remain in control—Copilot always asks before it executes commands or touches files, unless you explicitly tell it to remember a folder or approve a tool for the rest of the session.

If you prefer working in the terminal and want to automate repetitive tasks, get explanations of unfamiliar commands or avoid constant context switching, the Copilot CLI is designed for you. It can streamline things like:

• Generating boilerplate commands and scripts.

• Learning new tools or shells by asking Copilot to explain commands.

• Staying focused by reducing the need to move between different tools or windows.

Getting Started

To install and use Copilot CLI, you need a GitHub Copilot subscription (Pro or higher), Node.js 22 or later, and npm 10 or later. The installation is a simple global npm install:

///    npm install -g @github/copilot  ///

Once installed, navigate to a folder containing your code, type copilot and follow the prompts. Copilot will ask you to confirm that you trust the files in the folder before it can read or modify them. You may also need to log in with the /login command if you aren’t already authenticated.

During a session, if Copilot needs to run a tool that modifies or executes files, it will ask whether you want to approve it once, approve it for the rest of the session or decline and suggest a different approach. This keeps the AI’s actions transparent and gives you the ability to steer its behaviour.

Practical Use Cases

The blog post includes a lengthy starter kit with sample prompts and workflows. Here are a few highlights you might find useful:

• Creating issues, branches and pull requests: you can instruct Copilot CLI to open a GitHub issue, create a branch or open a pull request.

• Using the Microsoft Learn MCP server: quickly query Microsoft’s documentation through the CLI and generate summaries.

• Creating aliases: set shortcuts (for example, an alias that calls Copilot with the allow-all-tools and prompt flags) to streamline your workflow.

• Explaining and fixing scripts: ask Copilot to explain scripts and suggest improvements.

• Codebase maintenance: generate scripts for scanning vulnerabilities, upgrading dependencies or refactoring targeted areas of your project.

• Documentation: create or revise documentation to be more beginner‑friendly.

• System understanding: ask what’s using the most space on your laptop or which processes are running.

• Testing: generate commands to scaffold test suites or run coverage analysis.

• Prototyping: quickly spin up proof‑of‑concept projects, such as using a create-next-app template with Tailwind CSS to build a dashboard that pulls metrics from the GitHub API.

• Environment setup: request commands to set up virtual environments, clone repositories or build Docker containers.

• Command recall: ask how to undo the last commit or squash recent commits without googling the syntax.

• Command explanations: have Copilot explain unfamiliar Docker or Git commands in plain language.