Session Management

Prerequisites

• Completed Modules 1-2
• Copilot CLI installed and authenticated

Learning Objectives

• Understand session lifecycle and persistence
• Resume and continue previous sessions
• Use session-related slash commands
• Track session usage and metrics
• Clear context when needed

Concepts

What is a Session?

A session is a continuous interaction with Copilot CLI that maintains:

• Conversation history - All prompts and responses
• Context - Files, directories, and information gathered
• Tool approvals - Permissions granted during the session
• Working directory - The directory scope

Sessions can be:

• Continued - Pick up where you left off
• Resumed - Restore a previous session
• Cleared - Start fresh while staying in Copilot

Session Storage

Sessions are stored in your Copilot config directory:

• Default: ~/.copilot/
• Custom: Set via XDG_CONFIG_HOME environment variable

Hands-On Exercises

Exercise 1: Session Persistence

note

How Session Persistence Works:

• Each copilot invocation starts a fresh session by default
• To restore a previous session, use /resume slash command or --resume flag
• Key session commands available:
  • /resume - Switch to a different session (optionally specify session ID)
  • /rename - Rename the current session (alias for /session rename)
  • /context - Show context window token usage and visualization
  • /usage - Display session usage metrics and statistics
  • /session - Show session info and workspace summary (use subcommands for details)
  • /compact - Summarize conversation history to reduce context window usage
  • /share - Share session to markdown file or GitHub gist

Goal: Understand how sessions persist between interactions.

Steps:

1. Start a new session and gather some context:

   copilot

2. Ask Copilot to remember something:

   Remember that I'm working on a user authentication feature. The main file is auth.py.

3. Ask about the files:

   What files are in the current directory?

4. Exit with Ctrl+C (not /exit).

5. Immediately start Copilot again:

   copilot

6. Ask if it remembers:

   What feature was I working on?

7. Copilot should remember from the previous session context.

Expected Outcome: Recent session context is preserved when quickly re-entering.

Exercise 2: Resume a Session

Goal: Learn to explicitly resume a previous session.

Steps:

1. Start a session and do some work:

   copilot

   Create a file called notes.txt with "Session 1 notes"

2. Use /session to see session info:

   /session

3. Note the session ID displayed.

4. Exit completely:

   /exit

5. Start a new session with resume flag:

   copilot --resume

6. Verify you're in the same context:

   What was the last file we created?

Expected Outcome: The --resume flag restores your previous session state.

Exercise 3: Slash Commands for Session Control

Goal: Master session-related slash commands.

Steps:

1. Start an interactive session:

   copilot

2. View all commands:

   /help

3. Check current session:

   /session

   This shows:

   • Session ID
   • Start time
   • Duration
   • Files modified
   • Commands executed

4. Check usage statistics:

   /usage

   This shows:

   • Token consumption
   • API calls made
   • Model used

5. View current working directory:

   /cwd

6. Clear conversation history:

   /clear

7. Verify context is cleared:

   What was I just working on?

   Copilot won't know because context was cleared.

Expected Outcome: You understand each session command's purpose.

Exercise 4: Managing Working Directory

Goal: Control which directories Copilot can access.

Steps:

1. Start in your home directory:

   cd ~
   copilot

2. Check current working directory:

   /cwd

3. Change to a specific project:

   /cwd ~/copilot-workshop

4. Verify the change:

   /cwd

5. Add another directory for access:

   /add-dir ~/another-project

6. List all accessible directories:

   /list-dirs

7. Try to access a file outside allowed directories:

   Show me /etc/passwd

   Copilot should request permission or refuse.

Expected Outcome: You can control Copilot's file access scope.

Exercise 5: Session Clearing Strategies

Goal: Know when and how to clear session context.

Steps:

1. Build up context in a session:

   copilot

   Let's work on the frontend. The main component is App.tsx.

   The backend uses Express.js with routes in /api.

   We're using PostgreSQL for the database.

2. Check token usage:

   /context

3. Notice context filling up. If working on something unrelated:

   /clear

4. Start fresh:

   Now let's work on a completely different Python script.

5. Alternative: Partial clear - Exit and start new:

   /exit

   copilot

When to Clear:

Scenario	Action
Switching to unrelated task	/clear
Confused responses	/clear
Context limit approaching	/compact first, then /clear if needed
Sensitive info discussed	/clear and /exit
Session becomes slow	/clear

Expected Outcome: You know when clearing context improves your workflow.

Exercise 6: Multiple Sessions Strategy

Goal: Work with multiple Copilot instances.

Steps:

1. Open Terminal 1 - Frontend work:

   cd ~/project/frontend
   copilot

   Let's focus on React components

2. Open Terminal 2 - Backend work:

   cd ~/project/backend
   copilot

   Let's focus on API endpoints

3. Each terminal maintains its own:

   • Session context
   • Working directory
   • Tool approvals

4. Switch between terminals as needed for parallel work.

Expected Outcome: You can run multiple focused sessions simultaneously.

Exercise 7: Session Export and Sharing

Goal: Export session transcripts for documentation or sharing.

Steps:

1. Start a session and do meaningful work:

   copilot

   Explain the architecture of a typical Express.js application

2. Have a productive conversation building up knowledge.

3. Export to a file:

   copilot --share ./session-export.md

4. Or export to a GitHub Gist:

   copilot --share-gist

5. Review the exported markdown file:

   cat session-export.md

Expected Outcome: Session transcript saved for future reference or sharing.

Session Slash Commands Reference

Command	Description	Example
/help	List all commands	/help
/session	Show session info	/session
/usage	Show usage stats	/usage
/cwd	Show/change directory	/cwd ~/project
/add-dir	Add accessible directory	/add-dir /tmp
/list-dirs	List accessible directories	/list-dirs
/clear	Clear conversation history	/clear
/exit	End session	/exit
/model	Switch AI model	/model gpt-4

Command Line Flags

Flag	Description
--resume	Resume last session
--share PATH	Export to markdown file
--share-gist	Export to GitHub Gist
--silent	Suppress stats/logs

Summary

• ✅ Sessions maintain conversation history and context
• ✅ Use --resume to continue previous sessions
• ✅ /clear resets context without exiting
• ✅ /cwd and /add-dir control file access scope
• ✅ Run multiple sessions in different terminals
• ✅ Export sessions with --share for documentation

Next Steps

→ Continue to Module 4: Custom Instructions

References

• Use Copilot CLI - GitHub Docs
• Slash Commands Cheat Sheet