How to Plan Before Coding in GitHub Copilot CLI【/plan】

Overview#

Ever told Copilot “build this feature” and it immediately started writing code that was… not what you had in mind?

Jumping straight into code — whether you’re human or AI — tends to go sideways. Plan first. That’s what /plan does.

Run this in Copilot CLI:

/copilot> /plan implement JWT authentication

Instead of writing code immediately, Copilot creates an implementation plan. You can review and adjust the plan before moving to implementation.

Press Shift+Tab to cycle through modes. In “plan” mode, Copilot will always present a plan before taking action.

Scenario	Benefit
Adding a large feature	Understand the big picture first
Changes spanning multiple files	Know which files will be touched beforehand
Unsure about the design approach	Get options laid out clearly