Rubber Duck Thursdays - Copilot agent mode, coding agent and MCP servers
In this episode, we review the latest GitHub changelog including remote MCP server support for coding agent and Copilot code review on mobile. We use the Playwright MCP server with Copilot agent mode to debug and fix UI issues in the Octo Arcade project, discuss the differences between ask, edit, and agent modes in VS Code, and explore MCP server concepts like tools, prompts, and resources.
Topics covered
- GitHub changelog recap — Agents page for Copilot coding agent, CodeQL Rust support, improved repository creation experience, dependency auto-submission for Python, Copilot code review on GitHub Mobile, remote MCP server support for coding agent, and delegating tasks via the GitHub MCP server.
- Playwright MCP server for UI debugging — Used Copilot agent mode with the Playwright MCP server to debug and fix game sizing issues in the Octo Arcade project, including viewport overflow, header overlap, and mobile responsiveness for pong, brick breaker, and matching games.
- Ask vs Edit vs Agent mode — Walked through the practical differences between VS Code Copilot modes: ask for conversational code suggestions that must be manually applied, edit for targeted file changes, and agent mode for autonomous multi-step workflows that can run builds, tests, and use MCP tools.
- MCP server concepts — Explored MCP server fundamentals including the three main primitives: tools (executable functions), prompts (predefined conversation templates), and resources (contextual data for the AI).
Related Content
Rubber Duck Thursdays - Let's build
GitHub
In this stream, Chris catches up on several weeks of GitHub updates including the remote MCP server preview and Copilot coding agent for business users. The live coding session demonstrates adding internationalization to the Copilot Airways app using Copilot coding agent, custom VS Code chat modes for planning, and agent mode in Xcode for iOS development.
Rubber Duck Thursdays - Let's build with agents
GitHubIn this episode, we recap the latest GitHub changelog updates including Copilot coding agent availability for pro users and the new Playwright MCP browser capability. We update Copilot custom instructions and setup steps for a GitHub Action project, use the Playwright MCP server to build interactive UI features on a trend radar app, and leverage Copilot coding agent to identify and fix technical debt.
Rubber Duck Thursdays - Copilot coding agent and Copilot agent mode
GitHubIn this stream, Chris recaps announcements from Microsoft Build, reviews three weeks of GitHub changelog updates, and does a deep dive into Copilot coding agent using the Copilot Airways demo app. Topics include assigning issues to Copilot, reviewing AI-generated pull requests, MCP integration with Notion, and best practices for writing well-scoped GitHub issues.