Have Copilot coding agent write and push code
A developer found the agent good at context and code, but it pushed to a branch leaving main empty and spent hours checking after being told to proceed.
Done withGitHub Copilot
- What they did
- This is a GitHub community feedback thread on the Copilot coding agent, not a single walkthrough. The original poster assigned issues to the agent and watched it work. A commenter, BaljeetCyber, told it to push finished code to the repo, then told it to proceed with full setup without asking again.
- How it went
- The original poster found the agent good at context and code, but its first PRs were weak without instructions, and it couldn't read attachments or org PR links. The commenter says it pushed to a branch, left main empty, then spent hours checking empty folders.
- Worth knowing
- Set up Copilot instructions before the first assignment, and paste attachment contents straight into the issue, since the agent couldn't read attached files.
Try it yourself with GitHub Copilot
In [owner/repo], implement [feature or task]. Work on a new branch named [branch-name], not main, and before pushing anything, show me the branch you'll push to and a summary of the changes. Once I approve, push and open a pull request, then stop and tell me what you pushed and where.
Want help getting this working? Join the Vibe Coding Academy ↗ Run by Alex Finn, who also runs this site.
Source: github.com · Aug 21, 2025
Related use cases
Run a solo company with eight agent departments
A founder set up CEO, CFO, COO, lawyer, accountant, marketing, CTO, and improver agents that share memory and consult each other.
Assign website tweaks to Copilot coding agent
An author gave the Copilot coding agent two small changes on their own site; it opened draft PRs and the spacing change was good enough to merge.
Run terminal commands with Copilot agent mode
Users report the agent sometimes fails to read terminal output and may undo correct code; workarounds include switching shells.
Build a C compiler with a team of parallel agents
Anthropic's engineering write-up on tasking Opus 4.6 agent teams with building a C compiler.
Troubleshoot a production-only performance issue
A developer used Cursor and Warp agents to analyze NestJS database queries and recommend indexes for a production performance problem.
Let terminal agents make phone calls
A CLI tool built on Twilio gives terminal agents a voice to make calls, with a dashboard for questions they can't answer.
Custom agent
Get 5 like this every morning
The best things people got an AI agent to do, each with the prompt to try it.