Copilot Review Skill

Use GitHub Copilot CLI to perform automated code reviews that identify issues and suggest improvements. This is a read-only analysis skill.

When to Use

• User asks to review code
• User wants to check for bugs or issues
• User mentions security, performance, or quality
• Before committing code
• During pull request review
• User asks "what's wrong with this code?"

Prerequisites

Verify GitHub Copilot CLI is available:

copilot --version

Note: Copilot will ask you to trust the files in the current folder before it can read them.

Basic Usage

Step 1: Determine Scope

Decide what to review:

• Uncommitted changes
• Specific files
• Last commit
• Pull request
• Entire codebase

Step 2: Check Current State

git status
git diff --stat
git diff

Step 3: Launch Copilot CLI

cd /path/to/project
copilot

Step 4: Execute Review

Use a structured prompt:

Perform a comprehensive code review of [SCOPE].

Check for:
1. Critical issues (must fix): security vulnerabilities, runtime errors, data loss risks
2. Important issues (should fix): logic bugs, performance problems, type safety gaps
3. Suggestions (nice to have): refactors, better patterns, documentation

For each issue:
- Severity (Critical/Important/Suggestion)
- File path and line number
- Why it matters
- How to fix it

Do NOT make any changes - this is review only.

Step 5: Present Findings

Organize results by severity.

Tips

• Use @path/to/file to focus on specific files.
• Use /usage to view session usage details.
• Use /model to pick another model if needed.
• Use ? or copilot help to see available commands.

Use Custom Instructions

Copilot CLI automatically loads repository instructions if present:

• .github/copilot-instructions.md
• .github/copilot-instructions/**/*.instructions.md
• AGENTS.md (agent instructions)

Error Handling

• If Copilot is not found, ensure it is installed per the prerequisites in README.md and available in PATH.
• If authentication fails, run /login and follow prompts.
• If output is too high-level, narrow scope and include file paths.

Related Skills

• copilot-ask for read-only questions
• copilot-exec for code modifications

Limitations

• Read-only analysis
• Interactive mode only
• Limited by current codebase context