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Skills
Skill 12 of 54
Practical tips for reviewing and improving Copilot agent PRs.
2 minutes · 420 words · 19 sections
Install
npx skills add github/gh-aw --skill github-copilot-agent-tips-and-tricksnpx skills add github/gh-awThe first command installs just this skill, by the name in its SKILL.md; the second installs the whole repository.
Use this guide to find, review, and work with Copilot coding agent pull requests in gh-aw.
Copilot coding agent branches use the copilot/ prefix, which makes them easy to identify and filter.
Examples from this repository:
copilot/add-cache-for-imported-workflowscopilot/fix-istruthy-bundling-issuecopilot/update-audit-command-copilotcopilot/refactor-mcp-tool-renderingCopilot coding agent PRs are typically authored by:
app/github-copilot - The GitHub Copilot bot accountPrerequisites:
# Authenticate with GitHub CLI
gh auth loginSearch by author (GitHub Copilot bot):
# List all PRs created by the Copilot bot
gh pr list --author "app/github-copilot" --limit 100
# Include closed PRs
gh pr list --author "app/github-copilot" --state all --limit 100
# Get detailed JSON output
gh pr list --author "app/github-copilot" --json number,title,author,headRefName,createdAt,stateSearch by branch prefix:
# Find all PRs from copilot/* branches
gh pr list --search "head:copilot/" --state all
# Combine with other filters
gh pr list --search "head:copilot/ is:open"
gh pr list --search "head:copilot/ is:merged"Filter with jq:
# Extract specific fields
gh pr list --limit 100 --json author,number,title,headRefName \
--jq '.[] | select(.headRefName | startswith("copilot/")) | {number, title, branch: .headRefName}'
# Filter by author containing "copilot"
gh pr list --limit 100 --json author,number,title \
--jq '.[] | select(.author.login | contains("copilot"))'List copilot branches:
# Local and remote copilot branches
git branch -a | grep copilot
# Remote copilot branches only
git branch -r | grep copilotSearch commit history:
# Find commits with "copilot" in message
git log --all --grep="copilot" --oneline
# Find commits by copilot author
git log --all --author="copilot" --oneline
# Show graph with copilot-related commits
git log --all --grep="copilot" --oneline --graphFind merged copilot PRs:
# Search for merge commits
git log --all --merges --grep="copilot" --oneline
# With PR numbers
git log --all --merges --oneline | grep -i copilotBased on analysis of this repository, Copilot coding agent PRs typically address:
Refactoring and Code Organization
Documentation Improvements
Bug Fixes
Testing Enhancements
Security Fixes
When reviewing Copilot coding agent PRs, pay attention to:
copilot/descriptive-name pattern# Find PRs related to a specific feature
gh pr list --search "head:copilot/ refactor" --state all
# Find PRs in a date range
gh pr list --search "head:copilot/ created:>=2024-01-01" --state all
# Find PRs with specific labels
gh pr list --search "head:copilot/ label:enhancement"# Check out a copilot PR locally
gh pr checkout <PR-number>
# View PR diff
gh pr diff <PR-number>
# View PR details
gh pr view <PR-number>
# View PR in browser
gh pr view <PR-number> --web# Count merged copilot PRs
gh pr list --author "app/github-copilot" --state merged --json number --jq 'length'
# List recent copilot PRs with dates
gh pr list --author "app/github-copilot" --state all --limit 20 \
--json number,title,createdAt,state \
--jq '.[] | "\(.number): \(.title) (\(.state)) - \(.createdAt)"'
# Export to CSV for analysis
gh pr list --author "app/github-copilot" --state all --limit 100 \
--json number,title,createdAt,state,author \
--jq -r '.[] | [.number, .title, .state, .createdAt] | @csv' > copilot-prs.csvIf you see “gh auth login” prompts:
# Authenticate with GitHub CLI
gh auth login
# Or set token environment variable
export GH_TOKEN="your-github-token"If searches return no results:
app/github-copilot or github-copilot)gh pr list --search "head:copilot/"git branch -r | grep copilotIf you hit GitHub API rate limits:
# Check rate limit status
gh api rate_limit
# Use authenticated requests (higher limits)
gh auth loginmain, last pushed 24 September 2026.SKILL.md, not by matching a directory convention. 4 distinct layouts observed: .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md, .github/skills/*/SKILL.md, .squad/*/skill.md, SKILL.md (repo root).h1 and no skipped levels:/github/gh-aw.md, and each skill at its own .md URL.