From f962e2de8dc8f5aec4b3476da9fe6c7db037343a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Wahlin Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:42:40 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 1/4] docs: recover PR #22 updates (rewind, allow-all, rename) Recover changes from PR #22 which were merged into the since-deleted staged branch and never reached main. Includes: - /rewind timeline picker documentation (Ch 01, 02) - /allow-all on|off|show subcommands (Ch 01) - /rename auto-generate option (Ch 01) - Updated context management section (Ch 02) - Alphabetized command tables (Ch 01) Original PR: https://github.com/github/copilot-cli-for-beginners/pull/22 Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> --- 01-setup-and-first-steps/README.md | 27 +++++++++++++++------------ 02-context-conversations/README.md | 23 ++++++++++++++++------- 2 files changed, 31 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-) diff --git a/01-setup-and-first-steps/README.md b/01-setup-and-first-steps/README.md index 628f674..c3c47d0 100644 --- a/01-setup-and-first-steps/README.md +++ b/01-setup-and-first-steps/README.md @@ -361,11 +361,11 @@ These commands work in interactive mode. **Start with just these six** - they co | Command | What It Does | When to Use | |---------|--------------|-------------| -| `/help` | Show all available commands | When you forget a command | | `/clear` | Clear conversation and start fresh | When switching topics | +| `/help` | Show all available commands | When you forget a command | +| `/model` | Show or switch AI model | When you want to change the AI model | | `/plan` | Plan your work out before coding | For more complex features | | `/research` | Deep research using GitHub and web sources | When you need to investigate a topic before coding | -| `/model` | Show or switch AI model | When you want to change the AI model | | `/exit` | End the session | When you're done | That's it for getting started! As you become comfortable, you can explore additional commands. @@ -381,10 +381,10 @@ That's it for getting started! As you become comfortable, you can explore additi | Command | What It Does | |---------|--------------| -| `/init` | Initialize Copilot instructions for your repository | | `/agent` | Browse and select from available agents | -| `/skills` | Manage skills for enhanced capabilities | +| `/init` | Initialize Copilot instructions for your repository | | `/mcp` | Manage MCP server configuration | +| `/skills` | Manage skills for enhanced capabilities | > 💡 Agents are covered in [Chapter 04](../04-agents-custom-instructions/README.md), skills are covered in [Chapter 05](../05-skills/README.md), and MCP servers are covered in [Chapter 06](../06-mcp-servers/README.md). @@ -392,9 +392,9 @@ That's it for getting started! As you become comfortable, you can explore additi | Command | What It Does | |---------|--------------| -| `/model` | Show or switch AI model | | `/delegate` | Hand off task to Copilot coding agent on GitHub (agent in the cloud) | | `/fleet` | Split a complex task into parallel subtasks for faster completion | +| `/model` | Show or switch AI model | | `/tasks` | View background subagents and detached shell sessions | ### Code @@ -403,18 +403,18 @@ That's it for getting started! As you become comfortable, you can explore additi |---------|--------------| | `/diff` | Review the changes made in the current directory | | `/pr` | Operate on pull requests for the current branch | -| `/review` | Run the code-review agent to analyze changes | | `/research` | Run deep research investigation using GitHub and web sources | +| `/review` | Run the code-review agent to analyze changes | | `/terminal-setup` | Enable multiline input support (shift+enter and ctrl+enter) | ### Permissions | Command | What It Does | |---------|--------------| -| `/allow-all` | Auto-approve all permission prompts for this session | | `/add-dir ` | Add a directory to allowed list | -| `/list-dirs` | Show all allowed directories | +| `/allow-all [on\|off\|show]` | Auto-approve all permission prompts; use `on` to enable, `off` to disable, `show` to check current status | | `/cwd`, `/cd [directory]` | View or change working directory | +| `/list-dirs` | Show all allowed directories | > ⚠️ **Use with caution**: `/allow-all` skips confirmation prompts. Great for trusted projects, but be careful with untrusted code. @@ -422,21 +422,24 @@ That's it for getting started! As you become comfortable, you can explore additi | Command | What It Does | |---------|--------------| -| `/resume` | Switch to a different session (optionally specify session ID) | -| `/rename` | Rename the current session | +| `/clear` | Abandons the current session (no history saved) and starts a fresh conversation | +| `/compact` | Summarize conversation to reduce context usage | | `/context` | Show context window token usage and visualization | +| `/new` | Ends the current session (saving it to history for search/resume) and starts a fresh conversation. | +| `/resume` | Switch to a different session (optionally specify session ID) | +| `/rename` | Rename the current session (omit the name to auto-generate one) | +| `/rewind` | Open a timeline picker to roll back to any earlier point in the conversation | | `/usage` | Display session usage metrics and statistics | | `/session` | Show session info and workspace summary | -| `/compact` | Summarize conversation to reduce context usage | | `/share` | Export session as markdown file or GitHub gist | ### Help and Feedback | Command | What It Does | |---------|--------------| -| `/help` | Show all available commands | | `/changelog` | Display changelog for CLI versions | | `/feedback` | Submit feedback to GitHub | +| `/help` | Show all available commands | | `/theme` | View or set terminal theme | ### Quick Shell Commands diff --git a/02-context-conversations/README.md b/02-context-conversations/README.md index 8aa5023..bcb30b1 100644 --- a/02-context-conversations/README.md +++ b/02-context-conversations/README.md @@ -330,19 +330,27 @@ copilot ### Check and Manage Context -As you add files and conversation, Copilot CLI's [context window](../GLOSSARY.md#context-window) fills up. Two commands help you stay in control: +As you add files and conversation, Copilot CLI's [context window](../GLOSSARY.md#context-window) fills up. Several commands are available to help you stay in control: ```bash copilot > /context -Context usage: 45,000 / 128,000 tokens (35%) +Context usage: 62k/200k tokens (31%) > /clear -# Wipes context and starts fresh. Use when switching topics +# Abandons the current session (no history saved) and starts a fresh conversation + +> /new +# Ends the current session (saving it to history for search/resume) and starts a fresh conversation + +> /rewind +# Opens a timeline picker allowing you to roll back to an earlier point in your conversation ``` -> 💡 **When to use `/clear`**: If you've been reviewing `books.py` and want to switch to discussing `utils.py`, run `/clear` first. Otherwise stale context from the old topic may confuse responses. +> 💡 **When to use `/clear` or `/new`**: If you've been reviewing books.py and want to switch to discussing utils.py, run /new first (or /clear if you don't need the session history). Otherwise stale context from the old topic may confuse responses. + +> 💡 **Made a mistake or want to try a different approach?** Use `/rewind` (or press Esc twice) to open a **timeline picker** that lets you roll back to any earlier point in your conversation, not just the most recent one. This is useful when you went down the wrong path and want to backtrack without starting over entirely. --- @@ -559,15 +567,16 @@ copilot | Situation | Action | Why | |-----------|--------|-----| | Starting new topic | `/clear` | Removes irrelevant context | +| Went down wrong path | `/rewind` | Roll back to any earlier point | | Long conversation | `/compact` | Summarizes history, frees tokens | | Need specific file | `@file.py` not `@folder/` | Loads only what you need | -| Hitting limits | Start new session | Fresh 128K context | +| Hitting limits | `/new` or `/clear` | Fresh context | | Multiple topics | Use `/rename` per topic | Easy to resume right session | #### Best Practices for Large Codebases 1. **Be specific**: `@samples/book-app-project/books.py` instead of `@samples/book-app-project/` -2. **Clear between topics**: Use `/clear` when switching focus +2. **Clear context between topics**: Use `/new` or `/clear` when switching focus 3. **Use `/compact`**: Summarize conversation to free up context 4. **Use multiple sessions**: One session per feature or topic @@ -846,7 +855,7 @@ copilot --add-dir /path/to/directory 1. **`@` syntax** gives Copilot CLI context about files, directories, and images 2. **Multi-turn conversations** build on each other as context accumulates 3. **Sessions auto-save**: use `--continue` or `--resume` to pick up where you left off -4. **Context windows** have limits: manage them with `/context`, `/clear`, and `/compact` +4. **Context windows** have limits: manage them with `/context`, `/clear`, `/rewind`, and `/compact` 5. **Permission flags** (`--add-dir`, `--allow-all`) control multi-directory access. Use them wisely! 6. **Image references** (`@screenshot.png`) help debug UI issues visually From 9b434d2f2c03586bc06557862d4c539934fa86ec Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Wahlin Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:47:44 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 2/4] Apply suggestion from @Copilot Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> --- 01-setup-and-first-steps/README.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/01-setup-and-first-steps/README.md b/01-setup-and-first-steps/README.md index c3c47d0..4b4e633 100644 --- a/01-setup-and-first-steps/README.md +++ b/01-setup-and-first-steps/README.md @@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ That's it for getting started! As you become comfortable, you can explore additi | Command | What It Does | |---------|--------------| | `/add-dir ` | Add a directory to allowed list | -| `/allow-all [on\|off\|show]` | Auto-approve all permission prompts; use `on` to enable, `off` to disable, `show` to check current status | +| `/allow-all [on|off|show]` | Auto-approve all permission prompts; use `on` to enable, `off` to disable, `show` to check current status | | `/cwd`, `/cd [directory]` | View or change working directory | | `/list-dirs` | Show all allowed directories | From 6cb037cba20acb617c0c9652535bca9e6403634a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Wahlin Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:48:57 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 3/4] Apply suggestion from @Copilot Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> --- 02-context-conversations/README.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/02-context-conversations/README.md b/02-context-conversations/README.md index bcb30b1..30b6cd5 100644 --- a/02-context-conversations/README.md +++ b/02-context-conversations/README.md @@ -855,7 +855,7 @@ copilot --add-dir /path/to/directory 1. **`@` syntax** gives Copilot CLI context about files, directories, and images 2. **Multi-turn conversations** build on each other as context accumulates 3. **Sessions auto-save**: use `--continue` or `--resume` to pick up where you left off -4. **Context windows** have limits: manage them with `/context`, `/clear`, `/rewind`, and `/compact` +4. **Context windows** have limits: manage them with `/context`, `/clear`, `/rewind`, `/compact`, and `/new` 5. **Permission flags** (`--add-dir`, `--allow-all`) control multi-directory access. Use them wisely! 6. **Image references** (`@screenshot.png`) help debug UI issues visually From a71d7991b61f7c028788786e52510be36275c321 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Wahlin Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:50:28 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 4/4] Update README.md --- 02-context-conversations/README.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/02-context-conversations/README.md b/02-context-conversations/README.md index 30b6cd5..2125a8a 100644 --- a/02-context-conversations/README.md +++ b/02-context-conversations/README.md @@ -855,7 +855,7 @@ copilot --add-dir /path/to/directory 1. **`@` syntax** gives Copilot CLI context about files, directories, and images 2. **Multi-turn conversations** build on each other as context accumulates 3. **Sessions auto-save**: use `--continue` or `--resume` to pick up where you left off -4. **Context windows** have limits: manage them with `/context`, `/clear`, `/rewind`, `/compact`, and `/new` +4. **Context windows** have limits: manage them with `/clear`, `/compact`, `/context`, `/new`, and `/rewind` 5. **Permission flags** (`--add-dir`, `--allow-all`) control multi-directory access. Use them wisely! 6. **Image references** (`@screenshot.png`) help debug UI issues visually