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Getting Started (Go)

This guide covers the Go-specific setup: building the CLI and running the tutorial subcommands. For installing the Copilot CLI and authenticating with GitHub — shared by every language edition — follow the common Getting Started guide first.

Prerequisites

Requirement Minimum Version Purpose
Go 1.26+ Runtime and build toolchain
GNU Make latest Build targets
Node.js (npm) or GitHub CLI (gh) latest Installing the Copilot CLI
GitHub Copilot subscription — Required for API access

Verify your Go toolchain:

go version   # go1.26 or later

Build the CLI

The tutorial subcommands are part of the Go CLI. Build it with the project's Makefile:

cd src/go

# Build the CLI into ./dist/
make build

# Show the available tutorial subcommands
./dist/template-github-copilot-go tutorial --help

These subcommands do not require a separately running Copilot CLI server — the SDK starts one for you on demand via stdio. Use --cli-url host:port only if you already have a Copilot CLI running in TCP mode (see CLI Server Mode).

Run Your First Subcommand

cd src/go
./dist/template-github-copilot-go tutorial chat-bot --prompt "What is GitHub Copilot?"

Expected output (streaming):

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant developed by GitHub and OpenAI...

Global Flags

The root command exposes a global --verbose/-v flag (inherited by every subcommand) that lowers the log level to DEBUG, surfacing diagnostic logs such as the Copilot client connection mode and session lifecycle:

./dist/template-github-copilot-go tutorial chat-bot --verbose --prompt "Hello!"

Project Layout

src/go/cmd/tutorial/
├── README.md      # Subcommand index (points to these docs)
├── tutorial.go    # `tutorial` parent command group
└── chatbot.go     # Tutorial 1: CLI chatbot (chat-bot subcommand)

Environment Variables

The Go CLI relies on the common Copilot variables (COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN, COPILOT_CLI_PATH, COPILOT_CLI_URL) documented in the common Getting Started. It does not add any Go-specific environment variables.

Next Steps

Now that your environment is ready, work through the tutorials:

  1. CLI Chatbot — build your first Copilot-powered Go program