GitHub Copilot Hackathon Challenge #1
Description
🚀 GitHub Copilot Hackathon Challenge
https://github.com/Jfhelin/hack
Welcome to the GitHub Copilot Hackathon!
This challenge will guide you through the latest Copilot features — from Ask and Edit modes to MCP-powered issues, Copilot Coding Agent, and AI PR reviews.
You’ll work inside your own repository, experimenting freely and discovering how Copilot transforms your workflow.
🧭 Phase 1 – Setup & Preparation
Goal: Get your environment and repository ready for Copilot experimentation.
🔹 1️⃣ Find or fork a project
-
Pick a repository you’re comfortable working in — any language works.
You can:- Use an existing project you maintain.
- Fork a public repo (e.g. from GitHub Explore).
-
Copy the markdown of this issue into your own issue in your working repo so that you can modify it.
-
Create a new branch, e.g.
copilot-hackathon.
Keep all experiments in this branch — do not modify yourmain.
⚠️ Copilot never commits code without your consent, but keep your hackathon work isolated.
🔹 2️⃣ Ensure GitHub Copilot is enabled
- Make sure the GitHub Copilot extension is installed and active in your IDE.
- Ensure you also have Copilot Chat available (and optionally Copilot Edits/Agent features if supported by your IDE).
📘 Documentation:
💡 You don’t need three separate installs — Copilot Chat and Edits are included in most IDE integrations.
Just verify both completions and chat are visible in your IDE.
🔹 3️⃣ Configure the GitHub MCP server
We’ll use Copilot MCP to let Copilot Chat access your repo and issues.
- In your new branch, create a folder
.vscodeif it doesn’t exist. - Inside it, create a file named
mcp.json. - Copy content from 👉
.vscode/mcp.json. - Commit the file to your current branch.
- Observe and click the 'start' link on the top of the definition text in the mcp.json file.
📘 Learn more:
Understanding MCP and connecting Copilot to external resources
💬 Phase 2 – Exploring Copilot Chat Modes
Goal: Learn how Copilot helps you explore, understand, and reason about your code.
🔹 4️⃣ Explore your code using Ask mode
Pick a file or function you don’t know well and experiment freely with Copilot Chat.
Try questions like:
- “Explain what this function does, step by step.”
- “Where is this class used?”
- “Could this function be simplified?”
- “Generate a test for this logic.”
- “Rewrite this using a different algorithm.”
💡 Be curious! Ask follow-ups. Ask why. Modify prompts.
Try Ask, Explain, Generate, and Edit modes to see how each behaves.
- Switch between models (e.g.
GPT-5,Claud Sonnet 4.5,Claud Haiku 4.5) and compare reasoning quality.
🔹 5️⃣ Generate a copilot_instructions.md file
Copilot can generate project setup and context notes automatically — this file helps Copilot understand your project and coding style better.
💡 Why we’re doing this
The copilot_instructions.md file acts as a knowledge source for Copilot.
It summarizes:
- How the project is structured
- How to build and run it
- Key dependencies, conventions, and folders
When this file exists, Copilot can use it to reason more effectively about your codebase — for example, it can:
- Give more accurate answers when you ask questions about the project.
- Provide better suggestions for refactoring, debugging, and tests.
- Maintain consistent terminology and architecture decisions in its output.
Think of it as giving Copilot a “project briefing document”.
🧭 Steps
- Open the Command Palette (
Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P) - Search for “Copilot: Generate Project Instructions”
- Follow the prompts to create a new file named
copilot_instructions.md
Once it’s created, open the file and read what Copilot generated.
You can edit and expand this file — Copilot will use any updates in future conversations.
📘 Documentation:
Generate project instructions with Copilot
🧩 Phase 3 – Working with Issues via MCP
Goal: Use Copilot’s MCP connection to explore, understand, and create issues.
🔹 6️⃣ Explore and discuss issues (via MCP)
Now that the github-remote MCP server is configured:
- Use Copilot Chat to list or summarize issues in your repo.
Examples:- “List open issues in this repo.”
- “Summarize issue Add some metadata to the desktop entry canonical/standup-timer#12.”
- “Suggest next steps for this bug.”
- “How could we improve code related to this issue?”
🔹 7️⃣ Analyze code relevant to an issue
- Pick an interesting issue.
- Ask Copilot to locate where in the code this occurs, or to explain related logic.
Examples:
“Show me where this issue might occur in the code.”
“Explain how this module works.”
“What might cause this behavior?”
🔹 8️⃣ Generate a new issue
Once you’ve discussed a potential change, ask Copilot Chat to create a new issue.
- “Generate a new issue proposing a refactor of this method.”
- “File an issue to add input validation.”
Let Copilot generate the issue content directly.
🔹 9️⃣ Assign the new issue to Copilot Coding Agent
You can do this in two ways:
- In Copilot Chat, say “Assign this issue to the Copilot Coding Agent.”
- Or on GitHub.com → open the issue → click Assignees → select @copilot.
Observe how the Coding Agent interprets and plans the task.
🧮 Phase 4 – Reviewing and Reflection
Goal: Use Copilot to review and reason about existing work.
🔹 🔟 Request a Copilot code review (on GitHub.com)
- Go to your repository on GitHub.com.
- Find an existing Pull Request (in your org’s main project or your own branch).
- Assign @copilot as a reviewer.
Copilot will analyze the diff and comment directly on the PR.
⚠️ This action updates the PR with Copilot’s review comments.
💡 Alternative: If you prefer, create a duplicate PR (from your hackathon branch) and assign Copilot there — this preserves the original untouched.
🧠 Optional – Share Your Insights
- What surprised you most about Copilot’s behavior?
- Did different models produce noticeably different results?
- Which feature felt most natural or valuable?
✅ Completion Checklist
| Step | Description | Done |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fork / create project branch | ☐ |
| 2 | Enable Copilot and Chat | ☐ |
| 3 | Add .vscode/mcp.json (in branch) |
☐ |
| 4 | Explore Ask mode + models | ☐ |
| 5 | Generate copilot_instructions.md |
☐ |
| 6–9 | Work with issues & Coding Agent | ☐ |
| 10 | Assign PR to Copilot for review | ☐ |
| ✨ | Share insights | ☐ |
Happy hacking and exploring Copilot! 🎉