Run Copilot non-interactively with a prompt.
Section: Interactive and one-shot prompts
Summarize a file from the command line
bash
bash
copilot -p "Summarize what this file does: ./README.md"Explanation
The `-p` flag lets you run one prompt and exit without opening the full interface.
Learn the surrounding workflow
Compare similar commands or jump into common fixes when this command is part of a bigger troubleshooting path.
Related commands
Same sheet · prioritizing Interactive and one-shot prompts
Explain a source file
Ask Copilot to explain a code file directly from the terminal.
Ask a CLI how-to question
Get a concise terminal answer about a shell task.
Summarize recent commits
Use Git context from the repo in a direct prompt.
Inject a file into the prompt context
Reference a file inline inside the interactive UI.