Session M1-03: Prompt engineering fundamentals¶

Module: Copilot Fundamentals

Difficulty: Beginner

Prerequisites: Sessions M1-01 to M1-02

Duration: 3 hours (1 hour trainer content, 2 hours lab)

Overview¶

Build one todo API by improving prompts as the project evolves. Use intent, context, constraints, and examples to implement a store and Express routes. Then add priority filtering and record how context affected the proposal.

A useful prompt is only the start. The generated work still has to pass the project tests and API checks.

Learning outcomes¶

Write prompts that state the task, relevant context, boundaries, and examples.
Refine a useful result without mixing unrelated concerns.
Use CLI /refine and check that its rewrite preserves the intended task.
Use comments and neighboring files as deliberate context.
Recognize vague, overloaded, and untrusted instructions.
Turn a successful project prompt into a reusable pattern.

Required access¶

Learners need GitHub Copilot Chat, inline suggestions, the standalone CLI with /refine, Node.js 22 or later, and the declared npm dependency. Set up the CLI before delivery; Session M2-01 is not a prerequisite. If a requirement is unavailable, stop the lab.

Materials¶

Resource	Location
Trainer guide	`trainer-content/`
Slides	`slides.md`
Lab	`lab/`
Starter project	`lab/starter/api-starter/`
Reference result	`lab/solution/api-complete/`