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Lesson 6 - Work with issues and sessions

Create a focused backlog, select an issue, implement it in an isolated worktree, and review the diff yourself.

Ask the agent to suggest focused product improvements, turn those ideas into GitHub issues, and implement one issue in an isolated session.

In this lesson, you will:

  • create three focused issues for the Space Quiz.
  • browse your backlog in Issues.
  • start a session from an issue in a new worktree.
  • review the diff in the Changes tab and verify the feature.

Build a backlog in Issues

Send the following prompt:

Review the space quiz and suggest three focused feature ideas that could each be completed in a short session. Create a separate GitHub issue for each idea with a clear title, user-focused description, and acceptance criteria. Do not implement them yet.

Open Issues, review the three issues, and choose one that has clear value and a manageable scope.

Illustration of the Copilot app Issues view. The sidebar lists New, Pull requests, Issues, Automations, Customize, More, and the space-quiz project. The main area has Assigned to me, Created by me, Mentioning me, and Done tabs, a search box, State and Assignee filters, and a list of three open issues in the space-quiz repository.

Issues pulls your GitHub issues from every repository into the app, filtered by Assigned to me, Created by me, Mentioning me, and Done.

Implement an issue

  1. Open the selected issue from Issues.

  2. Select New session.

  3. Choose a new worktree when prompted.

  4. Use Interactive mode and your preferred model.

  5. Send the following prompt:

    Implement this issue completely. Keep the single-file, dependency-free design, test the behavior in the integrated browser, and summarize the changes when finished.

The new worktree keeps this feature isolated from your default branch until you are ready to review and merge it.

Review the diff yourself

When the agent reports back, do not take its word for it.

  1. Open the right-side flyout and select the Changes tab.
  2. Read the diff for every file the session touched.
  3. Test the feature in the integrated browser and confirm that it meets the issue’s acceptance criteria.

Illustration of the Copilot app session with the Changes tab open in the right-side flyout. It shows one file changed, index.html, with 142 lines added and 8 removed, and inline diff lines beside the session conversation.

The Changes tab lists every file the session touched, with the diff inline.

Summary and next steps

You created a backlog, implemented one issue in an isolated session, and reviewed the diff. Continue to Lesson 7: Plan before you edit.