NEW Github Copilot Coding Agent: Powerful NEW AI CODER + Copilot Opensource!

GitHub Copilot Coding Agent: A New Era of Autonomous Development

Key Concepts:

• GitHub Copilot Coding Agent: An autonomous AI agent integrated into GitHub and VS Code for automated task completion.
• GitHub Issues: Tasks assigned to the Copilot Coding Agent.
• Pull Requests (PRs): Code changes proposed by the Copilot Coding Agent for review and merging.
• MCP Integration: Integration with Microsoft Cloud Platform, enabling access to external systems.
• RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation): Technique used by the agent, powered by GitHub Code Search, to analyze the codebase.
• GitHub Actions: Platform for automating software workflows, used by the agent for tasks like running linters, builds, and tests.
• VS Code Core: The core of the VS Code editor, which is being open-sourced.
• Agent Mode: Real-time collaboration with Copilot within the editor.

1. Introduction to GitHub Copilot Coding Agent

• The GitHub Copilot Coding Agent is presented as a significant upgrade, an intelligent and autonomous agent embedded within GitHub and VS Code.
• It automates tasks such as bug fixes, refactoring, writing tests, and adding features based on assigned GitHub issues.
• The agent can autonomously build entire applications.

2. Autonomous Task Execution

• Workflow: A task is assigned to the Copilot Coding Agent via a GitHub issue. The agent immediately begins working on the task.
• Integration: The agent has MCP integration and full context awareness of related issues, PR threads, and project-specific coding standards.
• Example: Building a website for Copilot Airways. The agent is assigned an issue to add input validation to a form.
• Process:
  1. The issue is assigned to Copilot.
  2. Copilot acknowledges the request and begins working.
  3. Copilot creates a pull request in the background.
  4. Copilot forms a plan and updates the pull request description as it progresses.

3. Human-in-the-Loop Review Process

• The review process is designed to be natural, similar to reviewing code from a human team member.
• Reviewers can add comments and provide feedback on the changes proposed by Copilot.
• Example: Copilot acknowledges comments to create a GitHub Actions workflow and iterates on the task.
• Session View: Users can view the session to understand how Copilot approached the problem, including repository exploration, plan formation, and workflow file creation.
• Quality Checks: Copilot runs tools like linters, builds, and tests to ensure code quality.
• Approval and Execution: A button to "approve and run" is present before executing any GitHub Actions workflows, emphasizing the need for human review.

4. Behind the Scenes: How the Agent Works

• When an issue is assigned, Copilot responds with an "eyes" emoji and spins up a secure sandbox environment using GitHub Actions.
• The agent clones the repository, configures the environment, and analyzes the codebase using RAG, powered by GitHub Code Search.
• The agent uses local tools, accesses external systems through MCP, and interprets screenshots attached to the issues.

5. Integration with VS Code and GitHub Copilot Chat

• Users can interact with the Copilot Coding Agent directly within VS Code and GitHub Copilot via chat.
• Example: Requesting the agent to open a pull request to refactor a query.
• The agent spins up the workspace, analyzes the code, and pushes commits to a draft pull request in real-time.
• Users can monitor the agent's thought process, validate changes, and request follow-ups.
• The agent regularly pushes commits to the draft pull request, updating the PR description along the way.
• The agent operates within its own isolated branch, respecting branch protection rules and CI/CD policies.

6. Pricing and Availability

• While GitHub Copilot offers free features with access to state-of-the-art models, the Copilot Coding Agent is currently available only for the Pro Plus tier.
• The Pro Plus tier is in preview and costs approximately $39 per month.

7. Open Sourcing and Future Developments

• GitHub is open-sourcing the Copilot extension and refactoring it into VS Code Core, making VS Code an open-source AI editor.
• The speaker speculates that GitHub might introduce a free tier for the Copilot Coding Agent in the future.

8. The Power of Combined Agents

• The combination of Agent Mode (real-time collaboration within the editor) and the Copilot Coding Agent (autonomous background task execution) is described as a "total game changer."
• One agent collaborates in real-time, while the other autonomously picks up GitHub issues, spins up dev environments, writes code, refactors, adds tests, and opens PRs hands-free.
• This combination replicates the entire software development workflow.

9. Additional Resources and Call to Action

• Links to resources on how to assign tasks to Copilot and deploy the coding agent are provided.
• The speaker encourages viewers to subscribe to the World of AI newsletter, join the private Discord, and follow him on Twitter.

10. Conclusion

• The GitHub Copilot Coding Agent represents a significant advancement in AI-assisted software development, automating many tasks and freeing up developers to focus on more complex and creative work. The open-sourcing of VS Code and potential future developments suggest an even greater role for AI in the software development process.