50 GitHub Copilot Practice Questions: Question Bank 2025

You are new to GitHub Copilot and want to understand what it can and cannot do. Which statement best describes GitHub Copilot's role in software development?

In a TypeScript file, you want Copilot to generate a function that validates an email address and returns a boolean. What is the most effective way to prompt Copilot to generate the function skeleton and logic?

Your team wants to reduce the risk of accidentally committing secrets while using Copilot to speed up scripting. Which practice is the BEST recommendation?

During a pull request review, a teammate says, "Copilot wrote most of this code." What is the most appropriate next step for the reviewer?

You are writing a Python function to parse a log line into structured fields. Copilot keeps suggesting an overly complex regex that is hard to maintain. What is the BEST way to steer Copilot toward a simpler approach?

A repository enforces unit test coverage and uses a CI pipeline. Developers use Copilot to implement new features quickly. Which workflow best balances productivity with quality?

You are using Copilot in an IDE and notice suggestions frequently reference an outdated helper function that was replaced across the codebase. What is the most likely cause and best fix?

A team wants to standardize how Copilot is used to generate code changes for issues. They frequently see large, unfocused suggestions that are hard to review. What is the BEST guidance to improve results?

Your organization must ensure developers do not inadvertently paste sensitive internal code into external tools. They still want to use Copilot for productivity. Which approach best addresses this requirement?

You are designing a workflow where Copilot helps generate code for a microservice that handles user input. The service must be resilient against injection attacks and regressions. Which combination of actions is MOST effective?

A developer is new to GitHub Copilot and wants to quickly see how it can help write code in their IDE with minimal setup. Which feature is the best starting point to experience Copilot’s value with the least workflow change?

You ask Copilot to generate a helper function, but it keeps using a non-preferred library and an older internal naming convention. What is the most effective way to steer Copilot toward your desired style during generation?

A team wants to use Copilot while reducing the risk of accidentally introducing secrets into the repository. Which practice is most appropriate?

A developer uses Copilot to generate a SQL query for a web API endpoint. The query works, but a reviewer is concerned about SQL injection risks. What should the developer do next?

In Copilot Chat, a developer asks: "Why is my unit test failing?" but provides no code or error output. Copilot responds with generic advice. What is the best way to get a more accurate, actionable response?

A team wants Copilot-generated code to be easier to review and maintain. Which prompt approach is most likely to produce maintainable results?

Copilot suggests code that compiles but uses an API in a way that violates your project’s architectural rule: controllers must not call the database directly. What is the best next step?

A pull request includes Copilot-generated code. Reviewers want to ensure the code is safe, licensed appropriately, and meets quality standards. Which review approach is most appropriate?

A security team is concerned that developers might paste confidential incident details into Copilot Chat while troubleshooting. The organization still wants Copilot benefits. Which governance approach best reduces this risk while preserving productivity?

A team uses Copilot to generate a new microservice. The generated code passes basic tests, but production load reveals high latency due to inefficient data processing. What is the best way to use Copilot to help optimize without blindly accepting changes?

A developer is new to GitHub Copilot and wants to understand what it can and cannot do. Which statement best describes GitHub Copilot's role in a repository?

You want GitHub Copilot to generate a method that validates an email address and returns a boolean. Which prompt style is most likely to produce an accurate, maintainable result?

A team is concerned about accidental inclusion of secrets when using AI assistance. What is the recommended best practice when using GitHub Copilot in code that handles credentials?

A developer reports that Copilot suggestions are consistently irrelevant while editing a microservice. The repository has multiple similar services. What is the MOST likely action to improve suggestion relevance?

A pull request includes code generated with Copilot. The reviewer wants to ensure it meets team standards. Which review approach is BEST?

A team wants Copilot to help generate unit tests for a data transformation function. The initial generated tests are shallow and miss edge cases. What should the developer do to improve the results?

A developer uses Copilot to generate a SQL query for a search endpoint. A security engineer flags possible injection risk. Which change is the BEST mitigation while still using Copilot effectively?

An engineering manager wants to introduce Copilot but maintain strong governance. Which approach provides the BEST balance of productivity and control?

A developer asks Copilot to generate a cryptographic helper for password storage. The suggestion uses a fast hash function without a salt. What is the BEST next step?

You maintain a monorepo with multiple languages and frameworks. Developers complain that Copilot sometimes suggests code in the wrong language or style. Which repository-level design decision is MOST likely to improve the quality and consistency of suggestions?

A developer is new to GitHub Copilot and asks what it primarily does in an IDE. Which description is most accurate?

You want Copilot to generate a function that parses a CSV line, handles quoted commas, and returns a list of fields. Which prompt style is most likely to yield a correct result quickly?

A team wants to use Copilot without accidentally committing secrets. Which practice is the BEST immediate safeguard during development?

Two developers pair-program using Copilot. One wants to quickly share a suggested implementation and get feedback in the same workflow. What is the most appropriate approach?

A developer asks Copilot to generate an HTTP client. The suggestion works but uses a deprecated API and ignores the team's standard retry/backoff policy. What should the developer do FIRST?

Your organization requires that all new code paths include unit tests. Copilot generates a function but no tests. Which action best aligns with the requirement while using Copilot effectively?

A team notices Copilot frequently suggests inconsistent naming conventions compared to the rest of the codebase. Which change is most likely to improve suggestion consistency?

A developer reports that Copilot suggestions are irrelevant in a specific file, even though they work well elsewhere. Which is the most likely cause and best next step?

A regulated enterprise wants to adopt Copilot while reducing the risk of developers unintentionally introducing copyrighted code. Which approach is MOST appropriate?

You are designing a workflow where Copilot assists with code changes and a second developer validates them. The team has had incidents where accepted suggestions subtly changed behavior. Which strategy best reduces this risk while maintaining productivity?

A developer enables GitHub Copilot in their IDE and asks it to explain an unfamiliar function. Which Copilot capability is being used?

You want Copilot to generate more accurate code for an internal library without exposing the library's entire repository in your prompt. What is the best approach?

A team member says Copilot "isn't working" because no suggestions appear while typing. What is the first troubleshooting step you should take?

You are writing a function and want Copilot to generate unit tests that cover edge cases and error conditions. What prompt technique is most effective?

Your organization wants to reduce the chance that Copilot suggests code that conflicts with your project's established patterns. Which action helps most?

A developer uses Copilot to generate a SQL query by describing the intent. The generated query is syntactically correct but returns incorrect results. What should the developer do next?

Your team uses pull requests and wants Copilot to help reviewers understand a large change quickly. Which workflow is most effective?

A developer wants Copilot to generate code that uses a specific design pattern (for example, Strategy) in an existing module. What is the best way to steer Copilot?

Your organization handles regulated data. Developers sometimes paste production log snippets containing sensitive data into Copilot Chat to debug issues. What is the recommended approach?

A team uses Copilot to generate code in a repo with strict licensing requirements. Which process best reduces the risk of introducing problematic code?