Before you install anything extra, your coding agent already comes with tools. Copilot CLI (Tip #6) ships with built-in tools for reading files, editing code, searching your codebase (grep, glob), and running shell commands. It can also delegate to subagents — spinning up separate context windows for exploration, code review, or long-running tasks like test suites.
And it ships with the GitHub MCP server pre-configured. That means list my open PRs, check the CI status, or create an issue work from day one — no setup.
You can see what’s available: ask the agent **list all your tools** and it will usually list its capabilities.
Use /mcp to see connected MCP servers and their tools, and /context to see how much of your context window tools are consuming. The ! prefix runs shell commands directly, bypassing the model entirely — handy for quick git status or ls checks.
The point: many start looking for plugins and extensions before exploring what’s already there. The built-in tools cover a surprising amount of daily work — file operations, code search, shell access, GitHub integration.
💡 Try this: Open Copilot CLI and ask: **List all your tools and what each one does.** You might be surprised what’s already loaded.
How much of the built-in toolset have you seen being used?
🟢 The works — edits, web stuff, shell, subagents, planning, GitHub MCP …
🟡 Some — mostly file edits and shell commands
🔴 Barely scratched the surface
⚪ I don’t use Copilot CLI, but my agent uses similar tools
What built-in tool surprised you the most? Positively or negatively?