Best Practices for GitHub Copilot

To unlock its full power, you must go beyond autocomplete. Here’s how to harness GitHub Copilot’s full suite of features—responsibly and strategically.

Understand Copilot’s Three Modes

Copilot now operates in three distinct modes, each designed to support specific development needs:

1. Ask Mode – Your AI-Powered Codebase Guide

Use this mode when you’re onboarding a new project or need instant insights.

Examples:

“Where are the logs configured?”
“How does the app connect to the database?”
“Which frameworks are used here?”

Copilot will explore your codebase and return focused answers—no need to search manually.

2. Edit Mode – Your Context-Aware Coding Assistant

Enhance productivity by providing Copilot with precise context:

Add multiple files or even screenshots to guide the model.
Use the @ symbol to reference specific files/functions.

Use cases:

Generate unit tests
Refactor or optimize functions
Update deprecated code

3. Agent Mode – AI That Acts

This is where Copilot operates like an agentic AI:

It has control over the coding process, executes tasks, and modifies files.
You can choose between different AI agent models (e.g., for speed or reasoning).
Every change is reversible: Keep or Undo.

Perfect for “vibe coding”, prototyping, and ideation.

Configure Copilot for Maximum Value

You can tailor Copilot at the global or per-project level to better align with your development environment.

🔧 Configuration Options:

Prompt Files: Preload commonly used instructions or goals.
Tool Sets: Define tools, languages, or libraries your project uses.
Modes: Set preferred default mode based on project needs.
Instructions: Use persistent instructions to avoid repeating prompts.

💡 Explore awesome-copilot for ready-to-use configurations and community insights.

Beyond Coding: Reviews, Fixes, and UI Components

Code Review and Fixes

Copilot can:

Review pull requests
Suggest and auto-fix bugs
Recommend performance or security improvements

Wireframes & Style Guides

Generate UI components from wireframes
Apply style guide rules automatically

Ideal for frontend teams building consistent design systems.

Documentation-Aware Code Generation

Copilot can read your documentation via Instructions, enabling it to:

Understand project-specific architecture
Follow internal standards
Create contextually correct solutions

Final Thoughts

GitHub Copilot is no longer just autocomplete on steroids. It’s a structured, configurable, intelligent system for accelerating and improving software development.

The more intention and clarity you bring, the more it gives back—at scale.