Transitioning to Copilot

I recently expanded my local development environment with GitHub Copilot, my first experience with a built-in AI tool in my editor. I was hesitant at first, as I have noticed a fair bit of negative feedback towards similar tools about their reliability and over-use. However, if you adopt Copilo strategically, you’ll discover that it can boost productivity, maintain code quality, and even adapt to your personal style. In this post, I’ll guide you through my experience, highlighting how Copilot accelerates mundane tasks, where to watch for over-reliance, and how to make the most of its unique features.

Why Make the Switch?

Copilot makes repetitive coding tasks much easier and more efficient.I found Copilot significantly increased my speed when writing front end code, like React and CSS, involved a much more tedious process which I often dreaded. Copilot does this by consistently allowing for tab-completion of components with required props and relevant variables, as well as recently used class names and styles.

I mostly use typescript in tmy projects, Copilot benefits hugely from having strict type definitions available in all areas of a code base. This allows for much more accurate suggestions when initialising objects and defining function calls. As a result the code completion feature lets me spend less time wrestling with boilerplate, and more time refining core features and focusing on higher-level design and logic.

Advanced Features for Testing and Documentation

Beyond code generation, Copilot dramatically speeds up testing and documentation. You can generate tests for a specified function, including mock data objects or /functions tailored to your code. Copilot also improves test coverage by proposing test cases you haven’t covered yet.

The Microsoft assistant is particularly useful for generating comments and documentation for existing code. Similarly, if you use it to generate code, it will always try to weave relevant comments into the software A particularly useful feature which I often use is Copilot’s ability to write JSDoc-style function descriptions for interface methods, including parameter and return types.

Finally, Copilot can also help with sense-checking and explaining complex code blocks, which I find useful when working with unfamiliar code or even when returning to code which I haven’t worked on recently. Similarly, with the review function, it will scrutinise your code and offer targeted suggestions. Interestingly, I also noticed that Copilot seems to learn your coding style. Ffor example, mine now tends to mimic my console-logging patterns and variable- naming conventions when making suggestions.

These features have been useful for keeping my code readable, maintainable, and well-documented. Potential Pitfalls Yet, despite its power, Copilot definitely isn’t perfect, and I, too, came across some issues to look out for while using it: Dependency risk

When you lean on AI too often for bug fixes, you can stunt your problem-solving skills. In the long run, tackling complex issues may feel more daunting without Copilot’s crutch.

Reduced code literacy

Over-reliance on auto-completion can weaken your ability to read and parse unfamiliar code or cryptic stack traces. This is especially relevant to new coders who can benefit immensely from sitting with problems for longer and understanding them rather than always being instantly gratified with a solution.

“Almost correct” answers

Although Copilot’s suggestions can give valid solutions, they often tend to miss the mark. So you must always review all suggested code carefully before trusting it wholeheartedly.

Best Practices for a Healthy Balance

To avoid these downsides, follow these guidelines: Set boundaries

Reserve Copilot for boilerplate or low-risk code. Then, solve critical bugs yourself to keep your debugging muscles sharp.

Airplane Coding

As described by Michael Paulson, it is good practice to occasionally challenge yourself by ‘Airplane Coding’, where you write batches of code with no access to AI or the internet as a way to refine your skills and understanding.

Review rigorously

Always vet Copilot’s output: check imports, validate logic, and confirm edge cases.

Use it as a teacher

When Copilot summarises unfamiliar code, take time to read the explanation instead of skipping it. This practice deepens your understanding.

By blending Copilot’s speed with your domain expertise, you’ll code faster and smarter—without losing mastery of the fundamentals.