Randy Pagels explains how developers can get the most out of GitHub Copilot by improving the way they phrase their questions. The guide shares actionable advice for crafting more effective prompts and treating Copilot as a true coding collaborator.

Ask Better Questions, Get Better Code

Posted on Apr 04, 2025 by Randy Pagels

When you’re stuck, vague prompts won’t get you far. GitHub Copilot thrives when you ask clear, specific questions. Instead of hoping it reads your mind, try giving it the context it needs for your coding problem. Here’s how you can get better code by improving your prompts:

Be Direct—Ask Copilot Chat Exactly What You Need

The more effective your question, the better Copilot’s answer. Consider what you might ask a human teammate—then state that question to Copilot. Here are some practical prompt examples:

Instead of a vague prompt

# Fix this

Try being more specific:

# This function is timing out, can you suggest a more efficient approach?

Swap

# Add comments

For:

# Add inline comments that explain this logic to someone new to the codebase

Use Copilot to Help Improve Your Prompts

When you want to refine your own prompt-writing:

In Copilot Chat, you can ask:

# Help me write a clear prompt to generate a validation function that checks email and phone number formats

Bonus Tip: Ask Copilot to Review Your Prompt

Before you submit a long or complex prompt, try this:

# Is this a good prompt? If not, suggest a better one.

Quick Takeaway

GitHub Copilot’s responses are only as good as the clarity of your questions. If Copilot’s suggestions aren’t what you expected, the issue is often with the prompt rather than the tool itself. Treat Copilot as you would a coding partner by being explicit and concise about what you need.

Share your best prompts! We’re all learning together—if you have a prompt that always gets good results, share it with the group!

This post appeared first on “Randy Pagels’s Blog”. Read the entire article here