GitHub Copilot Learning Map

GitHub Copilot is a family of AI coding products that share one subscription, but differ in entry point, autonomy, and side-effect radius. This page is the landscape and decision tree — name the surface first, then decide what to learn.

Product landscape

Official feature list: GitHub Copilot features. Assistive tools work with you; agentic tools can work without you watching.

GitHub Copilot
├── IDE — VS Code / Visual Studio / JetBrains / Xcode / Eclipse
│   ├── Inline suggestions (ghost text; next-edit suggestions in VS Code / Xcode / Eclipse)
│   └── Chat: Ask / Edit / Agent mode (Agent mode runs locally)
├── github.com — Web (maps to Claude's Web)
│   ├── Copilot Chat (https://github.com/copilot, or any repo / Issue / PR)
│   ├── Cloud agent — research / plan / branch / optional PR (paid plans)
│   ├── Code review
│   └── Pull request summaries
├── Copilot CLI — Terminal (maps to Claude's CLI)
│   ├── Interactive session (`copilot`)
│   └── Programmatic (`copilot -p "..."`)
├── Copilot app — Desktop (maps to Claude's Desktop)
│   └── Parallel agent sessions, Issues / PRs / scheduled automations
├── GitHub Mobile
└── GitHub Desktop — commit messages only

Do not start these. They are sunset or closing:

Product	Status	What replaced it
Copilot Workspace	Sunset 2025-05-30	Cloud agent
GitHub App Copilot Extensions	Sunset 2025-11-10	MCP
gh copilot	Officially retired	Standalone copilot CLI
GitHub Spark	No new users / no new apps from 2026-08-04; export existing apps by 2026-08-31	Build in the IDE, CLI, or Copilot app

Spark was a natural-language micro-app builder. Density is too low — and it is closing — so it is not a standalone page. If you already have a Spark, export the repo from the workbench (… → Create repository) before 2026-08-31. Official: Spark deprecation.

Quick decision: which surface?

What am I doing right now?
├── Writing / completing / refactoring in an editor
│   └── → IDE
│       ├── Next line / boilerplate          → Code completion (Tab)
│       ├── I only want to understand        → Chat Ask
│       ├── I know which files               → Chat Edit
│       └── I give the goal, you own the process → Chat Agent (local, has side effects)
├── The work lives on the command line (scripts, git, build failures, no IDE)
│   └── → Copilot CLI
│       ├── Multi-turn                       → `copilot`
│       └── One-shot in a script             → `copilot -p "..."`
├── I am already on github.com (this repo / this Issue / this PR)
│   └── → github.com
│       ├── Ask about this repo              → Copilot Chat
│       ├── Well-scoped and slow, I will not watch → Cloud agent
│       └── Review this PR                   → Code review
└── Direct several agents in parallel and stay out of the IDE
    └── → Copilot app (desktop)

Three mix-ups to lock in now:

Easy to confuse	Difference
Chat Agent mode vs Cloud agent	Agent mode runs on your machine. Cloud agent runs on GitHub (Actions-powered environment) and produces a branch / PR. Official contrast.
Standalone copilot CLI vs gh copilot	The former is a full agent and is generally available. The latter is retired (explain / suggest only).
Copilot app vs IDE Chat	The app is a desktop shell on top of Copilot CLI: parallel sessions, Issues / PRs, automations. IDE Chat stays inside the editor.

More look-alikes live in the Glossary.

The mechanism that drives every later optimization: Copilot is not "we trained a model on your repo." It retrieves and injects context on every request. "Huge repo ⇒ Copilot knows it" is false. "Open the relevant files, then ask" is what works.

Core concepts at a glance

See the Glossary for full definitions.

Concept	One-line explanation	Where it appears
Four daily doors	Completion, IDE Chat, CLI, Cloud agent	Every page
Ask / Edit / Agent	Three autonomy levels inside IDE Chat	IDE
Cloud agent	Background agent on GitHub; paid plans; admin must enable it on Business / Enterprise	github.com / Issue / VS Code
Copilot CLI	Terminal agent (copilot). Not gh copilot	Terminal
Copilot app	Desktop app for parallel agent sessions	Desktop
Custom instructions	Auto-attached project constraints	All surfaces
Prompt files	/name reusable tasks	IDE Chat
MCP	Open protocol to external tools. Replaced GitHub App Extensions	All agentic surfaces
Plugins / Skills	Installable packs of agents, skills, hooks	CLI / Chat / app
Spaces	Named context pack (repos + files + notes)	github.com / Chat
AI credits	Usage unit for Chat, CLI, agents, review	Billing

Which page to open

This set follows Diataxis. Do not read the cheatsheet as a tutorial:

Page	Quadrant	Open it when
Getting started	Tutorial	First time: install → sign in → four daily doors → persist project conventions
Cookbook	How-to	You already know the basics and want a copy-paste recipe
Cheatsheet	Reference	Look up a keybinding, slash command, setting, CLI flag, or plan quota
Glossary	Explanation	You hit an unknown term, or you suspect a blog post is stale

Learning path

Stage 1: Make it work

Goal: install, sign in, and understand retrieval-based context.

Step	Content	Link
1	Pick a plan — there is a free tier	Tutorial · Step 0
2	Install the IDE extension and sign in; install the CLI only if you need the terminal agent	Tutorial · Step 1
3	Learn retrieval-based context injection — every later optimization depends on it	Tutorial · Step 2

Stage 2: Pick the right door

Goal: stop paying the "wrong surface" tax.

Step	Content	Link
4	IDE vs github.com vs CLI vs cloud vs desktop	Decision tree above; Tutorial · Step 3
5	Build muscle memory for Ask / Edit / Agent	Glossary · three modes
6	Feed context with @ and #	Cheatsheet · chat participants

Stage 3: Stop repeating yourself

Goal: write conventions once.

Step	Content	Link
7	Write .github/copilot-instructions.md	Cookbook · project conventions
8	Reuse prompt files for shaped tasks	Cookbook · prompt files
9	Attach MCP servers for databases and internal APIs	Glossary · MCP

Stage 4: Scale and stay safe

Goal: delegate, then review.

Step	Content	Link
10	Delegate to Cloud agent; write a task description with hard edges	Cookbook · Delegating to the cloud
11	Review anything that touches auth, SQL string building, crypto, or payments	Tutorial · Step 6

Feature quick reference

Assistive (you stay in the loop)

Feature	Purpose	Doc
Inline suggestions	Next line / boilerplate; Tab to accept	Tutorial
IDE Chat · Ask	Explain, compare, plan — never edits	Glossary
IDE Chat · Edit	Diffs on files you name	Cookbook
Copilot Chat on github.com	Ask about a repo / Issue / PR without opening an IDE	Ask questions in GitHub
PR summaries	AI summary of a pull request	Create a PR summary
GitHub Desktop	Commit message from the diff	Features

Agentic (it can run without you watching)

Feature	Purpose	Doc
IDE Agent mode	Local multi-step edits + commands you approve	Cookbook
Copilot CLI	Terminal agent; interactive or copilot -p	Cheatsheet · CLI · About CLI
Cloud agent	Research / plan / branch / optional PR on GitHub	Cookbook · About cloud agent
Copilot app	Desktop: parallel sessions, Issues / PRs, automations	About the Copilot app
Code review	AI review comments on a PR	Code review

Customization (cuts across every door)

Feature	Purpose	Doc
Custom instructions	Write once, attach every turn	Cheatsheet
Prompt files	/name reusable tasks	Cookbook
MCP	External tools and data	Glossary
Skills / Plugins	Specialized packs	Glossary
Spaces	Named context pack	Glossary

Currency warnings

Copilot moves fast. Old tutorials (including our previous single file) are full of dead syntax:

• Copilot Workspace (GitHub Next technical preview) sunset on 2025-05-30. "Issue → plan → PR" now lives on Cloud agent.
• GitHub App Copilot Extensions sunset on 2025-11-10. Official replacement: MCP. VS Code client-side Chat extensions are unaffected.
• GitHub Spark no longer accepts new users or new apps (2026-08-04). Existing users can export until 2026-08-31. Deployed apps keep running. Do not write new Spark tutorials.
• @workspace, #editor, #git, #vscodeAPI are off the official list. Codebase retrieval is a tool; Agent mode calls it.
• What used to be called "coding agent" is now cloud agent.
• gh copilot (the GitHub CLI extension) is officially retired. Use standalone copilot.
• Copilot CLI is generally available (since 2026-02-25). Pages that still say "public preview" are stale.
• Copilot is not available on GitHub Enterprise Server.
• Enterprise needs GitHub Enterprise Cloud. Business and Enterprise differ mainly in AI-credit pool and admin controls — numbers are in Cheatsheet · Plan comparison.

The full retired / renamed list is in Glossary · Retired or renamed concepts.

Links

• GitHub Copilot documentation
• GitHub Copilot features
• VS Code Copilot documentation
• Cheatsheet · High-quality sources — sources ranked by trust; also the evidence base for this set

Evidence rule: the Chinese docs.github.com tree is incomplete and lags. Paths like docs.github.com/zh/enterprise-cloud@latest/... are widely dead. Verify facts on docs.github.com/en/copilot/....