I Turned My Terminal Into a Personal AI Assistant with Copilot CLI
How I used GitHub Copilot CLI to build a skills-based AI assistant that handles support triage, LinkedIn posts, and website management — all from the terminal.
Five browser tabs. Ticket tracker, LinkedIn, hosting dashboard, admin panel, code editor.
I got tired of the context-switching. So I built a system where one terminal does all of it — powered by GitHub Copilot CLI.
Copilot CLI ≠ Code Autocomplete
Most people think Copilot = VS Code suggestions. The CLI version is a full AI agent in your terminal — it reads files, runs commands, calls APIs, and holds context across a conversation.
Think less "autocomplete" and more "junior engineer with shell access."
The Moment It Clicked
I was triaging a support ticket at work. The usual routine — open the tracker, read the issue, check docs, draft a response, tag people, update the status. Fifteen minutes of tab-hopping.
That day, I asked Copilot CLI: "What's on my support board?"
It pulled up the dashboard, picked the ticket I pointed to, checked our docs, drafted a response, tagged the right people, and updated the status. One terminal. Two minutes.
What if I wire this up for everything I do?
The Setup: Pluggable Skills
Each skill is a folder with a markdown definition (tells the AI what to do) and small Python scripts (handle the API calls). Copilot reads the instructions on every prompt — no fine-tuning, no vector databases.
Pull up tickets, cross-reference docs, draft responses, update statuses — all in one conversation
Draft from templates, preview with character count, publish via API — OAuth handles auth
Create blog posts, cross-post to LinkedIn, check admin dashboards, deploy with one command
A shell command switches between work mode (formal tone, work skills) and personal mode (casual tone, personal skills). Same terminal, different context.
What I Learned
A well-written markdown file does 90% of the work. Get the instructions right and the AI follows.
100-line Python scripts beat complex frameworks. No LangChain, no embeddings — just markdown + Python + APIs.
Copilot CLI turns your terminal into a command center. Stop switching tabs — let the AI handle the context-switching.
Try It
Install Copilot CLI and create ~/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md — this is your assistant's brain.
Pick one repetitive task (triage tickets, draft posts, check dashboards), write a small script for it, and add a skill definition. Then keep adding skills — each one is just another folder.
Your terminal might be the only window you need. Book a call if you want to see the setup.