How to configure Copilot for test-driven development
Need best settings, prompts, and IDE config to make Copilot suggest tests first and help with red/green/refactor cycles in TDD workflows.
Answers
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Quick setup (VS Code): enable Copilot inline (ghost text) and open the Copilot pane with Ctrl+Enter for focused suggestions. Create the test file first and run tests to see it fail.
Copy-paste prompts:
• "Write one failing unit test (pytest) for function calculate_total(items). Output only the test file; no implementation."
• "Now implement the minimal code to make that test pass. Keep changes minimal."
• "Refactor the implementation without changing tests; keep tests green."
Cycle: test → run (fail) → implement → run (green) → refactor.
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