GitHub Copilot Enhances Workflow with Stacked Sessions

GitHub has unveiled a major productivity boost for developers using its AI-powered Copilot app: stacked sessions and pull requests. This feature aims to simplify how developers manage large, interconnected projects by creating an intuitive workflow for incremental updates.

Cassidy Williams, a senior developer advocate at GitHub, recently shared her experience modernizing a decade-old project using the new stacked sessions feature. Struggling with outdated dependencies—including React 15 and Less for CSS pre-processing—Williams turned to the Copilot app to streamline the process. The result: a seamless series of pull requests that transformed her codebase without overwhelming her.

At its core, stacked sessions allow developers to break down large tasks into manageable pieces. Each session builds on the previous one, and the app automatically organizes these into what GitHub calls “stacked pull requests.” These stacks create a chain where each pull request targets the branch of the one below it, ensuring that changes are logically ordered and easy to review.

Why Stacked Sessions Matter

Updating older projects can feel like untangling a web of issues. Williams described how pre-AI tools would have made her project “painful” to modernize, requiring weeks of manual effort. With Copilot, she was able to offload much of this complexity, leveraging AI to analyze her code and suggest actionable steps.

For example, when faced with legacy code issues like outdated React-bootstrap components, the app not only suggested a full migration plan but also created a separate session to handle the scope. This segmentation minimizes scope creep—a common issue for developers tempted to tackle too many updates in a single pull request.

Developer Workflow, Reinvented

Here’s how Williams’ workflow unfolded with stacked sessions:

She started by modernizing her code’s styling, using AI to decide between Tailwind and vanilla CSS.
When compatibility issues arose with her deployment branch, Copilot seamlessly transitioned her updates to the correct branch, preserving her work.
Legacy dependencies like React-bootstrap were flagged, and a new session was created to handle their replacement without disrupting other updates.
Finally, Copilot stacked the resulting pull requests, ensuring each update was logically ordered and easy to test.

This iterative process highlights the potential of AI to not only write code but also manage the development lifecycle in ways that were previously impractical.

What’s Next for GitHub Copilot?

GitHub has positioned Copilot as more than just a code assistant—it’s a project management tool for the future. Stacked sessions and pull requests are currently available in the Copilot app, and developers can explore these features to streamline their workflows. As AI continues to evolve, tools like these could redefine how collaborative software development is done.

For developers curious to try these features, the GitHub Copilot app is available now, and stacked pull requests can be tested across repositories. Whether you’re modernizing legacy code or starting fresh, this might be the productivity boost you’ve been waiting for.

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