LAB300 - Hands-on with GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio 2026

🚀 Start the Workshop - Interactive themed workshop guide with all steps and documentation.

This lab will guide you through using GitHub Copilot's various features in Visual Studio 2026. You'll start with a partially completed TinyShop application and use GitHub Copilot to complete missing features and enhance the application.

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2026 with GitHub Copilot extension installed
• .NET 10 SDK
• GitHub account with Copilot subscription (including Free)

Lab Overview

The TinyShop application consists of two main projects:

• A backend API built with .NET Minimal APIs
• A frontend Blazor Server application

You'll use GitHub Copilot's various features to enhance and complete this application.

Lab Parts

0. Setup
1. Exploring the Codebase with GitHub Copilot Chat
2. Code Completion with Ghost Text
3. Enhancing UI with Inline Chat
4. Referencing Code Files in Chat
5. Using Custom Instructions
6. Implementing Features with Copilot Agent
7. Using Copilot Vision
8. Debugging with Copilot
9. Commit Summary Descriptions
10. MCP Servers
11. Planning Mode in Agent
12. Reusable Prompt Files
13. Delegate to the Cloud

Key Takeaway: These tools can significantly boost your productivity as a developer by automating repetitive tasks, generating boilerplate code, and helping you implement complex features more quickly.

Session Resources

Resources	Links	Description
🌐 Workshop Site	https://dotnet-presentations.github.io/visual-studio-github-copilot-lab/	Interactive themed workshop with all steps
Build session page	https://build.microsoft.com/sessions/LAB300	Event session page with downloadable recording, slides, resources, and speaker bio
Microsoft Learn	https://aka.ms/AAI_DevAppGitHubCop_Plan	Official Collection or Plan with skilling resources to learn at your own pace