Copilot App First Steps

A guided, beginner-friendly tutor that helps non-technical users understand the value of the GitHub Copilot app by creating something useful. Everyone can become a developer.

Start here

Discovery page:

https://dubsopenhub.github.io/copilot-app-first-steps/

If you are brand new, use the button below.

This opens the simple start page, copies the tutor phrase, and helps you create your first useful workflow:

start app tutorial

No terminal commands are required for the main path.

Who this is for

This is for non-technical or first-time users who want to understand what the GitHub Copilot app can help them create without needing to understand Git, branches, pull requests, terminals, or developer jargon first.

Good fits:

• Product managers
• Designers
• Support teammates
• Managers
• Founders
• Operations partners
• Anyone curious about what the Copilot app can do

What you can create

By the end, you will be able to create:

1. A natural-language project summary.
2. A checklist from a GitHub issue.
3. A non-technical pull request explanation.
4. A project plan before anything changes.
5. A status update from project context.
6. A first real workflow you can repeat.
7. Confidence that you can become a developer by learning to create with the app.

The guided path

Start -> Open app -> First prompt -> Projects -> Safety -> Workflows -> Issues/PRs -> Graduation

The tutor shows a "You are here" marker at every step.

Visual tour

Start menu

App map

Approval prompt model

How to use the tutor

Open the Copilot app and type:

start app tutorial

The tutor will ask one question at a time and guide you through the app with colorful builder cards, emoji-labeled progress, copy/paste prompts, tiny wins, and safety notes.

What makes this different

This starts from user value, not tool mechanics. It is specific to the GitHub Copilot app:

• Chat overlay
• Project sessions
• Issue sessions
• Pull request sessions
• Permission prompts
• Guided work
• Session navigation

The tutor now matches the landing page promise: Build the thing you have been waiting for. Open. Ask. Build. It uses emoji-driven lesson cards, short creator-first prompts, and tiny celebrations so the experience feels like building momentum instead of reading a manual.

Brand guidance

The design follows the GitHub Copilot Brand Toolkit: dark GitHub surfaces, GitHub blue primary actions, Copilot purple accents, shadcn/ui-inspired component polish, clear product context, and no deprecated standalone Copilot logo hero.

The public page uses brand-inspired colors and GitHub dark surfaces, but it does not show raw brand guideline sheets or product lockup guidance to learners.

Having trouble?

I do not have the Copilot app installed

Go to the official Copilot app releases page:

https://github.com/github/app/releases

The app may require preview access depending on your account or organization.

I opened the app but do not know what to type

Type this exact phrase:

start app tutorial

I see a login or access message

That usually means one of these is true:

• You need to sign in to GitHub.
• Your Copilot subscription is not active for this account.
• Your organization has not enabled Copilot app access yet.
• The app preview is not available to your account yet.

Ask your GitHub or organization admin if you are using a work account.

I see a permission prompt

You are still in control.

Green: Read or explain - usually safe
Yellow: Create or edit - review first
Red: Delete, overwrite, publish, or merge - pause and ask why

When learning, choose the safest option and ask Copilot to explain what it wants to do.

For technical helpers

This package includes the skill in two locations:

skills/copilot-app-first-steps/SKILL.md
.github/skills/copilot-app-first-steps/SKILL.md

Use whichever location your Copilot app or skill loader supports. The primary learner path should remain the one-click install page, not manual setup.

Repository contents

This repo follows the same pattern as the other DUBSOpenHub Copilot skill projects:

• README.md - learner-facing start page
• install.html and index.html - one-click landing page
• SKILL.md - root skill entry for quick inspection
• skills/copilot-app-first-steps/SKILL.md - canonical skill package
• .github/skills/copilot-app-first-steps/SKILL.md - GitHub-discoverable skill copy
• agents/copilot-app-first-steps.agent.md - agent persona/config
• agents/copilot-app-first-steps.md - product/design notes for the tutor
• SECURITY.md - private vulnerability reporting policy
• CONTRIBUTING.md - contribution workflow
• docs/QA_REVIEW.md - latest QA review results
• docs/workflows/validate.yml - ready-to-activate package validation workflow
• docs/workflows/pages.yml - ready-to-activate Pages deployment workflow

Maintainer note: the workflow files are committed as templates under docs/workflows/ because the token used to create the repo did not include workflow scope. Move them to .github/workflows/ after refreshing auth with workflow scope.

Package layout

copilot-app-first-steps/
├── README.md
├── index.html
├── install.html
├── TESTING.md
├── AGENTS.md
├── SECURITY.md
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
├── LICENSE
├── agents/
│   ├── copilot-app-first-steps.agent.md
│   └── copilot-app-first-steps.md
├── assets/
│   ├── start-here.svg
│   ├── hero.svg
│   ├── install-button.svg
│   ├── app-map.svg
│   └── approval-prompt.svg
├── docs/
│   └── workflows/
│       ├── validate.yml
│       └── pages.yml
├── skills/
│   └── copilot-app-first-steps/
│       ├── SKILL.md
│       └── catalog.yml
├── .github/
│   └── skills/
│       └── copilot-app-first-steps/
│           └── SKILL.md
└── evals/
    └── copilot-app-first-steps/
        ├── eval.yaml
        └── tasks/

One-click install note

This package does not invent an unsupported Copilot app URL scheme. install.html keeps the app install/open URL in one place so an official skill-install deep link can be added as soon as the app exposes one.

How it was built

This tutor was designed from the patterns used across DUBSOpenHub Copilot skill repos, with special attention to non-technical onboarding, visual guidance, one-click entry, security posture, and beginner-safe permission education.

🐙 Created with 💜 by @DUBSOpenHub with the GitHub Copilot CLI.