GitHub Copilot CLI - Initial Setup Guide

Everything you need to install and configure before using GitHub Copilot CLI for Microsoft Fabric development. Use this guide after a fresh Windows laptop install or to onboard new team members.

The commands below install the latest stable release unless a specific version is intentionally required. Python is pinned to the 3.13 release line to match the current Fabric Runtime guidance in skills-for-fabric.

Prerequisites

1. PowerShell 7

GitHub Copilot CLI requires PowerShell 6 or later on Windows. PowerShell 7 (pwsh) is also recommended by the Windows custom statusline.

Install: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell-on-windows

# Install the latest stable PowerShell 7
winget install --exact --id Microsoft.PowerShell

# Check / upgrade
pwsh --version
winget upgrade --exact --id Microsoft.PowerShell

Restart the terminal after installing PowerShell for the first time.

2. GitHub Copilot CLI

Copilot CLI requires an active GitHub Copilot subscription. Organization and enterprise policies must also allow Copilot CLI.

Install documentation: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-cli/set-up-copilot-cli/install-copilot-cli

# Install the latest stable release
winget install --exact --id GitHub.Copilot

# Check / upgrade
copilot --version
winget upgrade --exact --id GitHub.Copilot

# Recommended interactive authentication
copilot login

You can also start copilot and run /login. Copilot CLI may use an authenticated GitHub CLI session as a fallback, but its own OAuth login is the recommended interactive method.

3. Azure CLI

The Azure CLI authenticates Fabric and Azure operations. The custom statusline can also use it to show the active Azure account.

Install: https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/install-azure-cli

# Install the latest stable release
winget install --exact --id Microsoft.AzureCLI

# Check / upgrade
az --version
az upgrade --yes

# Sign in
az login
az account show --output table

4. GitHub CLI

The GitHub CLI provides repository, issue, and pull-request commands. Copilot CLI can use its authenticated token as a fallback, and the custom statusline uses it to show the active GitHub identity.

Install: https://cli.github.com/

# Install the latest stable release
winget install --exact --id GitHub.cli

# Check / upgrade
gh --version
winget upgrade --exact --id GitHub.cli

# Sign in
gh auth login
gh auth status

5. Git

Git is required to clone repositories, for the skills-for-fabric Copilot CLI plugin (installed as a Git checkout), and by 2_Fab_Init.md.

Install: https://git-scm.com/downloads/win

# Install the latest stable release
winget install --exact --id Git.Git

# Check / upgrade
git --version
winget upgrade --exact --id Git.Git

Restart the terminal after installing Git for the first time so git is picked up on PATH.

6. Node.js

The npm installation method for Copilot CLI requires Node.js 22 or later. Use the latest LTS release; do not install the end-of-life Node.js 18 or 20 release lines.

Release status: https://nodejs.org/en/about/previous-releases

# Install the latest Node.js LTS release
winget install --exact --id OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

# Check / upgrade
node --version
npm --version
winget upgrade --exact --id OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

If WinGet reports that another Node.js package is already installed, remove or upgrade that installation rather than keeping multiple unmanaged copies.

7. Python 3.13

Use Python 3.13 for this Fabric development setup. It matches the current Python baseline documented for Fabric Runtime in the skills-for-fabric data-engineering guidance.

# Install the latest patch release in the Python 3.13 line
winget install --exact --id Python.Python.3.13

# Verify Python 3.13 specifically, even if other versions are installed
py -3.13 --version

# Upgrade to the latest available Python 3.13 patch
winget upgrade --exact --id Python.Python.3.13

Use py -3.13 when a command must run against this exact Python release.

8. uv (Python package manager)

uv is used to install Spec Kit in an isolated tool environment.

Install: https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/

# Install the latest stable release
winget install --exact --id astral-sh.uv

# Check / upgrade
uv --version
winget upgrade --exact --id astral-sh.uv

Tools

9. AI Engineering Fluency CLI

Tracks GitHub Copilot token usage across editors and command-line tools.

Repo: https://github.com/rajbos/ai-engineering-fluency

npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@rajbos/ai-engineering-fluency

# Install or upgrade to the latest stable release
npm install --global @rajbos/ai-engineering-fluency@latest

# Check version and show usage
ai-engineering-fluency --version
ai-engineering-fluency usage

10. OpenSpec

A lightweight spec framework for AI-assisted development. It helps teams agree on what to build before writing code.

Repo: https://github.com/Fission-AI/OpenSpec

npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@fission-ai/openspec

# Install or upgrade to the latest stable release
npm install --global @fission-ai/openspec@latest

# Check version
openspec --version

# Initialize in a project
Set-Location .\your-project
openspec init

11. Spec Kit (Specify CLI)

GitHub's spec-driven development toolkit. The current recommended installation uses the published specify-cli package.

Repo: https://github.com/github/spec-kit

Quick start: https://github.com/github/spec-kit/blob/main/docs/quickstart.md

# Install the latest stable release from the package registry
uv tool install specify-cli

# Check version
specify version

# Upgrade an existing installation
uv tool upgrade specify-cli

# Initialize in the current project for GitHub Copilot
specify init . --integration copilot

For reproducible environments, pin an exact published release instead of installing the development branch:

# Replace X.Y.Z with a release from the Spec Kit releases page
uv tool install "specify-cli==X.Y.Z"

Releases: https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases

12. Handy (speech-to-text)

A free, open-source, offline speech-to-text desktop app. Press a shortcut, speak, and the words are typed into the active text field.

Repo: https://github.com/cjpais/Handy

Website: https://handy.computer

# Install the latest release available through WinGet
winget install --exact --id cjpais.Handy

# Check / upgrade
winget list --exact --id cjpais.Handy
winget upgrade --exact --id cjpais.Handy

The WinGet package is community maintained rather than maintained by the Handy developers. After installing, launch Handy and configure:

Microphone permissions
Accessibility permissions
Your preferred keyboard shortcut

MCP servers

Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers give Copilot CLI extra tools and up-to-date context. Add these two for Fabric development: the GitHub MCP server (repository, issue, and pull request context) and the Microsoft Learn MCP server (live Microsoft/Fabric documentation search).

Docs: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-cli/customize-copilot/add-mcp-servers

GitHub MCP server

The GitHub MCP server is built into Copilot CLI and available by default with no configuration. Only add it explicitly if you need a customized toolset (for example, a limited set of toolsets or read-only mode) via the Docker-based server instead of the built-in one.

Repo: https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server

# Optional: add the Docker-based GitHub MCP server instead of the built-in one
copilot mcp add github --env GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=YOUR_GITHUB_PAT -- docker run -i --rm -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Microsoft Learn MCP server

The Microsoft Learn MCP server is a free, public, remote HTTP server. No authentication is required. It exposes microsoft_docs_search, microsoft_docs_fetch, and microsoft_code_sample_search, which help Copilot CLI ground answers in current Microsoft Learn and Fabric documentation instead of relying on training data.

Docs: https://learn.microsoft.com/training/support/mcp

# Add the remote Microsoft Learn MCP server
copilot mcp add --transport http microsoft-learn https://learn.microsoft.com/api/mcp

Verify

copilot mcp list

Or, inside an interactive copilot session, run /mcp show.

Custom statusline

The third-party custom statusline shows useful context at the bottom of Copilot CLI, including context-window usage, Azure account, GitHub user, token usage, and active specs.

Repo: https://github.com/pascalvanderheiden/copilot-cli-custom-statusline

Windows instructions: https://github.com/pascalvanderheiden/copilot-cli-custom-statusline/blob/main/windows/README.md

space hold to record | 21:57:15 | ctx: 42.1k/200k 21% | az: user@example.com | gh: username | openspec: change 47%

Important

This setup downloads and automatically executes third-party scripts whenever Copilot CLI renders the statusline. Review both files before enabling them. Using main downloads the newest code but is not reproducible; replace main with a reviewed commit SHA when a stable, auditable installation is more important than receiving updates immediately.

Install the statusline on Windows

Download both required Windows files:

$destination = "$env:USERPROFILE\.copilot"
$revision = "main" # Replace with a reviewed commit SHA to pin the code
$baseUrl = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pascalvanderheiden/copilot-cli-custom-statusline/$revision/windows"

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $destination | Out-Null
Invoke-WebRequest "$baseUrl/statusline.cmd" -OutFile "$destination\statusline.cmd"
Invoke-WebRequest "$baseUrl/statusline.ps1" -OutFile "$destination\statusline.ps1"

# Review the downloaded scripts before enabling automatic execution
Get-Content "$destination\statusline.cmd"
Get-Content "$destination\statusline.ps1"
Get-FileHash "$destination\statusline.cmd", "$destination\statusline.ps1"

Edit %USERPROFILE%\.copilot\settings.json and merge all three required blocks into any existing settings. Replace <your-user> with your Windows profile folder name:

{
  "experimental": true,
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "C:\\Users\\<your-user>\\.copilot\\statusline.cmd",
    "padding": 1
  },
  "feature_flags": {
    "enabled": ["STATUS_LINE"]
  }
}

Do not overwrite unrelated settings that are already in the file.

Test the wrapper with a sample payload:

'{"cwd":"C:\\Users\\you","context_window":{"current_context_tokens":42137,"displayed_context_limit":200000,"current_context_used_percentage":21.07},"cost":{"total_duration_ms":125300,"total_lines_added":17,"total_lines_removed":4}}' |
  & "$env:USERPROFILE\.copilot\statusline.cmd"

In Copilot CLI, run /statusline, select Custom, and then run /restart.

If the wrapper reports that pwsh is not available, install PowerShell 7 as described above. The upstream Windows README contains additional diagnostics for blank output, encoding problems, and slow statusline segments.

Statusline segments

Segment	What it shows
`space hold to record`	Handy voice-recording reminder
`HH:MM:SS`	Time the statusline was refreshed
`ctx: ...`	Current Copilot context-window usage
`az: ...`	Signed-in Azure CLI account
`gh: ...`	Active GitHub CLI account
`tokens<30d: ...`	Last 30 days token usage
`subtasks: ...`	Running Copilot subagents
`squad: ...`	Active Squad/AI-team context
`openspec: ...`	OpenSpec change progress
`spec-kit: ...`	Spec Kit task progress

Segments only appear when their related tool is installed, configured, and authenticated.

Quick check script

This script reports missing tools and verifies the required Node.js and Python release lines. It does not change the machine.

$checks = @(
    @{ Name = "PowerShell 7"; Command = "pwsh"; Arguments = @("--version") }
    @{ Name = "GitHub Copilot CLI"; Command = "copilot"; Arguments = @("--version") }
    @{ Name = "Azure CLI"; Command = "az"; Arguments = @("--version") }
    @{ Name = "GitHub CLI"; Command = "gh"; Arguments = @("--version") }
    @{ Name = "Git"; Command = "git"; Arguments = @("--version") }
    @{ Name = "Node.js"; Command = "node"; Arguments = @("--version") }
    @{ Name = "npm"; Command = "npm"; Arguments = @("--version") }
    @{ Name = "uv"; Command = "uv"; Arguments = @("--version") }
    @{ Name = "AI Engineering Fluency"; Command = "ai-engineering-fluency"; Arguments = @("--version") }
    @{ Name = "OpenSpec"; Command = "openspec"; Arguments = @("--version") }
    @{ Name = "Spec Kit"; Command = "specify"; Arguments = @("version") }
)

foreach ($check in $checks) {
    Write-Host "`n[$($check.Name)]" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    if (Get-Command $check.Command -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
        $commandArguments = $check.Arguments
        & $check.Command @commandArguments 2>$null | Select-Object -First 3
    } else {
        Write-Host "$($check.Command) NOT found" -ForegroundColor Red
    }
}

Write-Host "`n[Required versions]" -ForegroundColor Yellow

$nodeVersion = if (Get-Command node -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
    [version]((node --version).TrimStart("v"))
}
if (-not $nodeVersion -or $nodeVersion.Major -lt 22) {
    Write-Host "Node.js 22+ is required" -ForegroundColor Red
} else {
    Write-Host "Node.js $nodeVersion is supported"
}

$pythonVersion = if (Get-Command py -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
    $rawPythonVersion = py -3.13 --version 2>&1
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0 -and $rawPythonVersion -match "Python (\d+\.\d+\.\d+)") {
        [version]$Matches[1]
    }
}
if (-not $pythonVersion -or $pythonVersion.Major -ne 3 -or $pythonVersion.Minor -ne 13) {
    Write-Host "Python 3.13 is required for this Fabric setup" -ForegroundColor Red
} else {
    Write-Host "Python $pythonVersion is installed"
}

Write-Host "`n[Handy]" -ForegroundColor Yellow
winget list --exact --id cjpais.Handy 2>$null

Write-Host "`n[Custom statusline]" -ForegroundColor Yellow
$statuslineFiles = @(
    "$env:USERPROFILE\.copilot\statusline.cmd"
    "$env:USERPROFILE\.copilot\statusline.ps1"
)
$missingStatuslineFiles = $statuslineFiles | Where-Object { -not (Test-Path $_) }
if ($missingStatuslineFiles) {
    $missingStatuslineFiles | ForEach-Object {
        Write-Host "$_ NOT found" -ForegroundColor Red
    }
} else {
    Write-Host "Windows statusline files found"
}

Keeping tools current

Run these commands periodically:

winget upgrade --exact --id Microsoft.PowerShell
winget upgrade --exact --id GitHub.Copilot
winget upgrade --exact --id Microsoft.AzureCLI
winget upgrade --exact --id GitHub.cli
winget upgrade --exact --id Git.Git
winget upgrade --exact --id OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS
winget upgrade --exact --id Python.Python.3.13
winget upgrade --exact --id astral-sh.uv
winget upgrade --exact --id cjpais.Handy

npm install --global @rajbos/ai-engineering-fluency@latest
npm install --global @fission-ai/openspec@latest
uv tool upgrade specify-cli

WinGet, npm, and uv can only install versions currently available from their configured sources. A command succeeding therefore means "latest available from that source," not necessarily that every upstream project published its newest release to that source immediately.

License

MIT

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1_GHCP_Init.md

1_GHCP_Init.md

GitHub Copilot CLI - Initial Setup Guide

Prerequisites

1. PowerShell 7

2. GitHub Copilot CLI

3. Azure CLI

4. GitHub CLI

5. Git

6. Node.js

7. Python 3.13

8. uv (Python package manager)

Tools

9. AI Engineering Fluency CLI

10. OpenSpec

11. Spec Kit (Specify CLI)

12. Handy (speech-to-text)

MCP servers

GitHub MCP server

Microsoft Learn MCP server

Verify

Custom statusline

Install the statusline on Windows

Statusline segments

Quick check script

Keeping tools current

License

FilesExpand file tree

1_GHCP_Init.md

Latest commit

History

1_GHCP_Init.md

File metadata and controls

GitHub Copilot CLI - Initial Setup Guide

Prerequisites

1. PowerShell 7

2. GitHub Copilot CLI

3. Azure CLI

4. GitHub CLI

5. Git

6. Node.js

7. Python 3.13

8. uv (Python package manager)

Tools

9. AI Engineering Fluency CLI

10. OpenSpec

11. Spec Kit (Specify CLI)

12. Handy (speech-to-text)

MCP servers

GitHub MCP server

Microsoft Learn MCP server

Verify

Custom statusline

Install the statusline on Windows

Statusline segments

Quick check script

Keeping tools current

License