--- title: Get started with the GitHub Copilot app: a free,... description: Microsoft/GitHub published a free, open source course called 'GitHub Copilot app for Beginners' to teach developers how to use the new GitHub Copilot desktop... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/get-started-with-the-github-copilot-app-a-free-hands-on-course-6an5h1347 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Get started with the GitHub Copilot app: a free, hands-on course | daily.dev og:description: Microsoft/GitHub published a free, open source course called 'GitHub Copilot app for Beginners' to teach developers how to use the new GitHub Copilot desktop... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/get-started-with-the-github-copilot-app-a-free-hands-on-course-6an5h1347 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/6An5h1347.png og:image:alt: Get started with the GitHub Copilot app: a free, hands-on course og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Get started with the GitHub Copilot app: a free, hands-on course **[DevBlogs](https://daily.dev/sources/devblogs)** · 7 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Microsoft/GitHub published a free, open source course called 'GitHub Copilot app for Beginners' to teach developers how to use the new GitHub Copilot desktop app. The app centralizes AI agent sessions, diffs, tests, browser previews, issues, and pull requests in one window, using git worktrees to isolate parallel agent tasks. The course has eight chapters covering setup, sessions, development workflows, skills and custom agents, MCP servers and plugins, canvases, and automations, all built around a sample React/Vite/TypeScript book app. It targets developers who want to direct and review AI agent work rather than just chat with agents, emphasizing verifying agent output via diffs, tests, and running previews rather than trusting confident-sounding answers. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the GitHub Copilot app and how is it different from Copilot in VS Code or the CLI? The GitHub Copilot app is a desktop application where developers run AI coding agents, monitor their work, and review results before shipping. It brings plans, diffs, test output, browser previews, issues, and pull requests into a single window, unlike the editor or CLI versions which scatter this information across tools. It also uses isolated git worktrees so parallel agent sessions don't conflict, and it can still open the same project in VS Code for manual editing. _Anyone juggling multiple AI coding sessions can find deeper walkthroughs of workflows like this on daily.dev._ ### What topics does the GitHub Copilot app for Beginners course cover? The free, open source course has a setup chapter plus seven hands-on chapters: touring the app, sessions/worktrees/context, development and GitHub workflows, skills and custom agents, MCP servers and plugins, canvases, and automations. All exercises use a sample React, Vite, and TypeScript book collection app, and setup takes about 20 minutes before a session runs against that sample project. _Developers mapping out agentic workflows can track more hands-on AI tooling guides on daily.dev._ ### What session modes does the GitHub Copilot app offer for controlling AI agent work? The app offers three session modes: Interactive, for frequent check-ins while an agent works; Plan, for charting an approach before any code changes happen; and Autopilot, for handing off a well-defined task with less oversight. Each mode maps to how much control a developer wants over the agent, and choosing between them is treated as a judgment call without a single right answer. _Teams deciding how much autonomy to grant coding agents can compare approaches like these on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [GitHub Copilot app for Beginners: Getting started](https://daily.dev/posts/github-copilot-app-for-beginners-getting-started-xmhu8qors) · GitHub Blog · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [GitHub Copilot app generally available](https://daily.dev/posts/github-copilot-app-generally-available-1artyaowf) · GitHub Changelog · 5 upvotes · 1 comments - [Let’s Learn GitHub Copilot App](https://daily.dev/posts/let-s-learn-github-copilot-app-rexltnm6f) · DevBlogs · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [GitHub takes aim at Claude Code and Codex with its new Copilot app](https://daily.dev/posts/github-takes-aim-at-claude-code-and-codex-with-its-new-copilot-app-u5mftvizf) · The New Stack · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#ai-agents](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-agents), [#github](https://daily.dev/tags/github), [#ai-coding](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-coding), [#mcp](https://daily.dev/tags/mcp) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/get-started-with-the-github-copilot-app-a-free-hands-on-course-6an5h1347) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Get started with the GitHub Copilot app: a free, hands-on course","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/get-started-with-the-github-copilot-app-a-free-hands-on-course-6an5h1347","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/get-started-with-the-github-copilot-app-a-free-hands-on-course-6an5h1347"},"datePublished":"2026-09-28T18:08:48.771Z","dateModified":"2026-09-28T18:09:21.558Z","description":"Microsoft/GitHub published a free, open source course called 'GitHub Copilot app for Beginners' to teach developers how to use the new GitHub Copilot desktop...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/30d9b8e1f5a1eefc97c1a1308e928cb3?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/30d9b8e1f5a1eefc97c1a1308e928cb3?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"DevBlogs","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"DevBlogs","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/8f68b453325f482ebeb73fb780092713","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/devblogs"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/get-started-with-the-github-copilot-app-a-free-hands-on-course-6an5h1347","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"ai-agents,github,ai-coding,mcp","timeRequired":"PT7M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"DevBlogs","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/devblogs"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Get started with the GitHub Copilot app: a free, hands-on course"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/get-started-with-the-github-copilot-app-a-free-hands-on-course-6an5h1347#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the GitHub Copilot app and how is it different from Copilot in VS Code or the CLI?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The GitHub Copilot app is a desktop application where developers run AI coding agents, monitor their work, and review results before shipping. 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