GitHub Copilot Certification (GH-300)

Learning plan

About 15 hours of focused study, split into 4 phases. Pick your weekly pace and the timeline adjusts.

Estimated finish: 2 weeks

What the exam covers

Source: official exam guide. Weights can change, so check before you start.

Before you start

• A GitHub account with Copilot access. Copilot Free works for IDE practice; organisation policies and content exclusions need a Business or Enterprise trial
• VS Code (or another supported IDE) and working knowledge of at least one programming language and basic Git and pull requests

1. Week 1 · 3 h

   Responsible use, data flow and architecture

   • Name the risks of generative AI coding tools (insecure code, bias, licensing, outdated APIs) and why every suggestion must be reviewed
   • Trace how Copilot builds a prompt from open files and context, sends it through the proxy, filters it and post-processes the response
   • Explain the code suggestion lifecycle, LLM limits such as context window size and stale training data, and who owns the output

   Use: GH-300 study guide · GitHub Copilot Fundamentals Part 1 (Microsoft Learn) · GitHub Copilot Trust Center

2. Week 1 · 6 h

   Copilot features in the IDE, CLI and github.com (biggest domain)

   • Use inline suggestions, Copilot Chat with slash commands and participants, Copilot Edits and agent mode, and know the limits of each
   • Connect an MCP server to agent mode, manage agent sessions and delegate work to sub-agents
   • Install GitHub Copilot CLI and use it interactively to generate scripts and manage files
   • Use Copilot code review, pull request summaries, Spaces and Spark, and set review standards with repository custom instructions and reusable prompt files
   • Configure organisation policies for features and code review, read Copilot audit log events, and manage seats with the REST API

   Hands-on: In a sample repo, add a .github/copilot-instructions.md that sets coding standards, use agent mode to add a feature across two files, open a pull request, then request a Copilot code review and generate the PR summary.

   Use: GitHub Copilot Fundamentals Part 2 (Microsoft Learn) · GitHub Copilot documentation · About GitHub Copilot CLI · Adding repository custom instructions

3. Weeks 1–2 · 4 h

   Prompting, productivity, testing and safeguards

   • Write zero-shot and few-shot prompts, control context with open files and chat variables, and explain how chat history shapes later answers
   • Use Copilot to refactor legacy code, write documentation, generate sample data and suggest performance and security fixes
   • Generate unit and integration tests, including edge cases and assertions
   • Configure content exclusions at repo and organisation level, turn on the public code matching filter, and troubleshoot missing suggestions

   Hands-on: Take an untested function, ask Copilot Chat for /tests, then re-prompt with two example tests (few-shot) and compare coverage. Finally add a content exclusion for a secrets folder and confirm Copilot stops using that file as context.

   Use: Prompt engineering for Copilot Chat · Configuring content exclusions · GitHub Skills - Getting started with Copilot

4. Week 2 · 2 h

   Practice assessment and review

   • Take the free GH-300 practice assessment on Microsoft Learn and note every miss by domain
   • Try the GitHub exam demo to learn its interface, which differs from the standard Microsoft sandbox
   • Revisit plan differences (Free, Pro, Business, Enterprise), since many questions hinge on which plan includes a feature

   Use: GitHub certification exam demo · GitHub Copilot plans

You're ready to book when…

• You can say which Copilot plan and which policy setting controls a given feature
• You can explain the full data path from keystroke to suggestion, including where filtering happens
• You have used inline suggestions, chat, agent mode, the CLI and Copilot code review on a real repo
• You score 80% or higher on the official practice assessment twice

Exam tips

• GitHub exams do not give you access to Microsoft Learn during the test, unlike Microsoft role-based exams.
• You have 100 minutes. The certification is valid for 2 years, and GitHub is moving to Microsoft's renewal process.
• The Microsoft Learn skills list repeats the features heading twice; it covers the same 25–30% features domain, not an extra one.