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Copilot Workshops

Lesson 0 - Prerequisites

The GitHub Copilot app is a desktop app, serving as your central hub for both Copilot and GitHub. It provides quick access to issues and pull requests, and of course allows you to build using GitHub Copilot. During this workshop you’ll be working locally, using both the Tailspin Toys app, built on Astro, and of course the GitHub Copilot app. Before you get started, let’s ensure Node.js is installed locally, then install the Copilot app.

In this lesson, you will:

  • install Node.js so the project’s tests can run on your machine.
  • create your own copy of the Tailspin Toys project from the template.

Install Node.js

Several lessons ask an agent to build features and run the Tailspin Toys test suite locally, which needs Node.js — the only runtime the project requires. Install version 22 or newer; the current LTS release is a safe choice.

The simplest option on every platform is the official installer:

  1. In your operating system, open a terminal window using Windows Terminal, macOS terminal, or whatever you typically use.

  2. Run the following command to confirm you have at least Node.js 22 or higher installed:

    Terminal window
    node --version

  3. If you see v22 or a higher number, you can skip to the next section!

You only need to complete these steps if you don’t have Node installed, or you need to update.

  1. Open the Node.js download page.

  2. Download the LTS build for your operating system.

  3. Run the installer and accept the defaults. On Windows, keep the Add to PATH option selected.

  4. Once installed, open a new terminal window.

  5. Confirm the install in the new terminal window by running the following:

    Terminal window
    node --version

  6. You should see v22.x.x or higher.

Prefer containers? If you have Docker, you can use the repository’s dev container instead of installing Node.js locally — it bundles Node for you. You don’t need both.

Set up the lab repository

You’ll work against your own copy of the Tailspin Toys project. Create it now from the template repository. The new repository contains every file the lab needs, and you’ll connect it to the app in the next lesson.

  1. In a new browser window, navigate to the GitHub repository for this lab: https://github.com/github-samples/tailspin-toys.

  2. Create your own copy of the repository by selecting the Use this template button on the lab repository page. Then select Create a new repository.

    The Use this template button with Create a new repository selected from the dropdown

  3. If you are completing the workshop as part of an event being led by GitHub or Microsoft, follow the instructions provided by the mentors. Otherwise, you can create the new repository in an organization where you have access to GitHub Copilot.

    The Create a new repository form with github-samples/tailspin-toys set as the template and the repository name filled in

  4. Make a note of the repository path you created (organization-or-user-name/repository-name), as you will be referring to this later in the lab.

When you create your repository from the template, a backlog of GitHub issues is created for you automatically. You’ll work from these issues throughout the workshop — there’s nothing to file yourself.

Summary and next steps

You’re set up! You installed Node.js so the project can build and test on your machine, and you created your own copy of the Tailspin Toys repository from the template.

Next, you’ll install the GitHub Copilot app, connect the repository you just created, and get oriented in the workspace. Continue to Lesson 1 - Installing the GitHub Copilot app.

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