The video introduces GitHub’s Project Padawan, an AI-powered agent integrated into GitHub.com that autonomously manages tasks like code reviews, testing, and pull request updates in the background, enhancing developer productivity. It demonstrates how developers can assign issues to the AI, review its automated work, and interact with it through comments and integrations, with upcoming features allowing further customization and more context-aware assistance.
The video introduces GitHub’s Project Padawan, an innovative initiative aimed at integrating an agent experience directly into GitHub.com. Unlike traditional tools that require constant monitoring in an IDE, Padawan allows users to assign tasks to an AI agent, such as Copilot, which then works in the background over a period of time. This setup enables parallel task management, where the agent can handle multiple issues simultaneously, running in the cloud via GitHub Actions to perform tasks like code reviews, testing, and linting, ultimately streamlining the development process.
The presenter demonstrates how Padawan can be used with a repository, specifically a copy of the GitHub CLI project. By assigning an issue to Copilot, the AI begins working on it in the background, creating pull requests and making incremental updates. These updates are visible in GitHub, and the process is designed to be seamless, with the agent running in the cloud rather than on the developer’s local machine. This approach allows developers to focus on other work while the agent handles code improvements, testing, and review tasks autonomously.
A key feature of Padawan is its ability to generate and update pull requests automatically. The AI can push commits, run tests, and provide a progress plan within the PR. Developers can review these changes, leave comments, and instruct the agent to make further modifications—such as clarifying help texts or updating tests—by simply commenting on the PR. This iterative process mimics collaboration with a human team member, enabling continuous refinement of the code through natural interactions with the AI agent.
The system also supports integration with VS Code, where developers can see detailed logs of the agent’s activities, including how it interacts with the repository and makes changes. The agent communicates with itself through GitHub Actions, executing commands like listing files, searching for relevant code, and pushing updates. Developers can review these changes, accept or reject them, and continue the cycle of review and iteration, all while the agent operates in the background, enhancing productivity without disrupting the workflow.
Finally, the video mentions upcoming features and customization options, such as MCP support, which will allow the agent to connect with other tools for more context-aware assistance. Additionally, users will be able to customize Copilot’s behavior using configuration files, similar to those in VS Code, to teach the agent project-specific conventions or testing procedures. Although these features are still in testing and not yet available publicly, GitHub plans to roll them out to developers in the near future, promising a more integrated and efficient development experience with Project Padawan.