--- title: GitHub Copilot Modernize 101: Microsoft's 9-part series... description: Microsoft has released a 9-part video series, GitHub Copilot Modernize 101, covering AI-assisted modernization of legacy Java applications. The series walks... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/github-copilot-modernize-101-microsoft-s-9-part-series-on-ai-assisted-java-modernization-kth8fp649 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: GitHub Copilot Modernize 101: Microsoft's 9-part series on AI-assisted Java modernization | daily.dev og:description: Microsoft has released a 9-part video series, GitHub Copilot Modernize 101, covering AI-assisted modernization of legacy Java applications. The series walks... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/github-copilot-modernize-101-microsoft-s-9-part-series-on-ai-assisted-java-modernization-kth8fp649 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/kTh8Fp649.png og:image:alt: GitHub Copilot Modernize 101: Microsoft's 9-part series on AI-assisted Java modernization 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. # GitHub Copilot Modernize 101: Microsoft's 9-part series on AI-assisted Java modernization **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 3 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Microsoft has released a 9-part video series, GitHub Copilot Modernize 101, covering AI-assisted modernization of legacy Java applications. The series walks through the full lifecycle: assessment using tools like Dr. Migrate and CAST, framework upgrades (Spring Boot 1.5.9/Java 8 to Spring Boot 3.5.3/Java 25 using OpenRewrite), database migration from Oracle to PostgreSQL, containerization with Docker, and deployment to Azure Container Apps. A real-world case study shows a Java 5/Struts 1.3 monolith migrated in ~2 days instead of the typical 14 weeks. The key principle is developer-controlled modernization — Copilot handles repetitive mechanical work while developers review and approve every significant change. ## Content Microsoft has released a 9-part video series called *GitHub Copilot Modernize 101* on the Microsoft Developer Channel. It covers the full lifecycle of modernizing legacy Java applications — assessment, framework upgrades, database migration, containerization, and CI/CD — using GitHub Copilot's agentic capabilities inside existing developer IDEs like IntelliJ. ## Why modernization matters right now The framing throughout the series is practical: 94% of executives say AI is critical to their business, but only 28% have moved AI pilots into production. The bottleneck is usually the underlying codebase. You can't bolt AI onto a Java 1.5 Struts monolith. Modernization isn't a nice-to-have — it's the prerequisite. The series argues that modernization should be a continuous, repeatable process rather than a one-time big-bang rewrite. GitHub Copilot's agentic workflow makes that practical by automating the mechanical parts while keeping developers in control of every decision. ## What the series covers **Assessment** — The workflow starts with portfolio-level tools (Dr. Migrate, CAST, Azure Migrate) to identify what needs upgrading, then surfaces findings as GitHub Issues that feed directly into the agent's task list. **Framework upgrades** — The core demo upgrades a Spring Boot 1.5.9 / Java 8 application all the way to Spring Boot 3.5.3 and Java 25. The agent uses OpenRewrite under the hood and works through multiple milestones (Java 21 → 25, Spring Boot 3.3 → 3.4 → 3.5), running CVE checks and all 96 tests at each step. Minor Mockito 5.x compatibility issues get resolved automatically. The full upgrade takes roughly 20 minutes. **Customizing tasks** — Copilot generates a task list as a first draft, not a final decision. Developers can edit it: add constraints, exclude specific upgrades, or break changes into smaller reviewable steps. In one demo, excluding Java and Spring version bumps resulted in zero file changes — the intended outcome. Copilot still surfaced a pre-existing Mockito test failure and flagged known CVEs it couldn't fix within the given constraints, explaining why. The principle here is explicit: modernization means developer-controlled changes, not silent automatic rewrites. **Database migration** — A separate walkthrough covers migrating a Spring Boot app from Oracle to PostgreSQL on Azure, using a JetBrains plugin for database migration tasks. The agent handles dependency updates, readme fixes, and schema migration steps, with the developer reviewing each change. **Containerization and deployment** — The series ends with Docker containerization and deployment to Azure Container Apps, plus scaling the workflow via CLI and parallel cloud coding agents for larger portfolios. ## A real migration: Java 5 / Struts 1.3 to Java 21 and Spring Boot One contributor shared their experience migrating an actual legacy Java 5 / Struts 1.3 monolith — the kind of codebase that would normally take around 14 weeks to modernize manually. With AI assistance, it took about 2 days. A few things made the difference: - **A detailed migration plan upfront.** The agent works better with explicit steps than with vague goals. - **Custom verification skills.** AI makes mistakes. Building checks that catch them early saves time later. - **Custom instructions.** Guiding the agent through migration steps — rather than letting it improvise — produced more predictable results. This isn't a story about AI doing everything. It's about AI handling the repetitive mechanical work (dependency updates, CVE fixes, configuration migration) while the developer stays in the loop on decisions that matter. ## Where to find it The full 9-part *GitHub Copilot Modernize 101* series is on the [Microsoft Developer Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@MicrosoftDeveloper). The workflow runs inside IntelliJ via the GitHub Copilot App Modernization extension, with CLI support for scaling across larger portfolios. --- Tags: [#github](https://daily.dev/tags/github), [#java](https://daily.dev/tags/java), [#azure](https://daily.dev/tags/azure), [#spring](https://daily.dev/tags/spring) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/github-copilot-modernize-101-microsoft-s-9-part-series-on-ai-assisted-java-modernization-kth8fp649) ```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":"GitHub Copilot Modernize 101: Microsoft's 9-part series on AI-assisted Java modernization","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/github-copilot-modernize-101-microsoft-s-9-part-series-on-ai-assisted-java-modernization-kth8fp649","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/github-copilot-modernize-101-microsoft-s-9-part-series-on-ai-assisted-java-modernization-kth8fp649"},"datePublished":"2026-05-06T16:21:14.582Z","dateModified":"2026-05-15T20:04:09.250Z","description":"Microsoft has released a 9-part video series, GitHub Copilot Modernize 101, covering AI-assisted modernization of legacy Java applications. 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