10 GitHub Copilot Tricks Most Developers Don't Know (2026)
90% of developers use GitHub Copilot as a fancy autocomplete. Tab, tab, tab. Here are 10 hidden features that turn it into an autonomous coding agent — from slash commands to Agent Mode to MCP servers.
GitHub Copilot in 2026 is a completely different tool. Agent Mode went GA, agentic code review ships fix PRs automatically, MCP servers connect Copilot to your entire dev ecosystem, and Copilot CLI runs autonomously in your terminal. Most developers are only using 20% of what Copilot can do. This video covers all 10 tricks with demos and practical examples you can use today.
Chapters
0:00 The Hook
0:29 Why You're Using Copilot Wrong
0:59 Trick 1: Slash Commands
1:37 Trick 2: #file References
2:13 Trick 3: Custom Instructions
2:53 Trick 4: Next Edit Suggestions
3:29 Trick 5: Agent Mode
4:10 Trick 6: Agentic Code Review
4:44 Trick 7: Agent Hooks
5:19 Trick 8: MCP Servers
6:00 Trick 9: GitHub Spark
6:33 Trick 10: Copilot CLI
7:10 Recap & What's Next
Tools & Resources Mentioned
GitHub Copilot: https://github.com/features/copilot
GitHub Copilot Best Practices: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/ge...
awesome-copilot (community configs): https://github.com/github/awesome-cop...
GitHub Copilot CLI: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/ho...
GitHub Spark: https://github.com/features/copilot/w...
MCP (Model Context Protocol): https://modelcontextprotocol.io
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