Use GitHub Copilot for IT Scripting

1. Go to github.com and log in (or create a free account)
2. Navigate to github.com/features/copilot → click Start a free trial (30-day free trial available)
3. Select Copilot Individual ($10/month) and complete setup

1. Go to code.visualstudio.com → download for Windows → install (default settings are fine)
2. Open VS Code

1. In VS Code, click the Extensions icon in the left sidebar (four squares icon)
2. Search "GitHub Copilot" → click Install on "GitHub Copilot" by GitHub
3. Also install "GitHub Copilot Chat". this gives you the conversation panel
4. When prompted, click Sign in with GitHub and authorize

What you should see: A Copilot icon appears in the bottom-right status bar. It shows "Copilot: Ready" when connected.

Troubleshooting: If you get "Could not sign in," try: Help → Toggle Developer Tools → Console to see errors. Usually resolved by signing out and back in.

1. In VS Code, click File → New File
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+P → type "Select Language" → select PowerShell
3. Or just save the file as your-script-name.ps1. VS Code auto-detects PowerShell

Copilot reads your comments and generates code suggestions inline. This is the core skill.

1. On line 1, type a # comment describing your script's purpose:

   # Get all Active Directory users who haven't logged in for 90 days

1. Press Enter to go to line 2
2. Wait 1-3 seconds. a gray "ghost text" suggestion appears
3. Press Tab to accept it
4. Continue. Copilot tracks your comments and continues generating the next section

What you should see: Gray suggested code appearing after each Enter press. The suggestions anticipate what you need based on your comment.

Troubleshooting: If no suggestion appears, press Ctrl+Space to trigger one manually. Or wait a moment, suggestions sometimes take 2-3 seconds on the first request.

For multi-step scripts or when you want to describe the whole thing at once:

1. Click the Chat icon in the left sidebar (speech bubble)
2. Type your full request in plain English:

   Write a PowerShell script that:
   1. Reads a CSV file (columns: FirstName, LastName, Department, Title)
   2. Creates an AD user account for each row
   3. Sets the initial password to Welcome2026! and requires change on first login
   4. Adds users to the "New Employees" security group
   5. Outputs a summary log file to the desktop

1. Copilot writes the complete script and shows it in the chat panel
2. Click Insert into current file or copy-paste into your .ps1 file

Always test scripts before running on production AD:

1. Add -WhatIf to any destructive command to preview what would happen without doing it:

   Disable-ADAccount -Identity $user -WhatIf

1. For read-only scripts (exporting reports), run on a single test user or object first
2. For scripts that create/modify AD objects, test in a dev or test OU if you have one

When a script throws an error:

1. Copy the error message
2. Select the code line that caused it
3. Right-click → Copilot → Fix This
4. Or open Copilot Chat and type: "This line threw the error: [error message]. What's wrong and how do I fix it?"