feat: restructure workflows to use latest conventions, remove step 4b, simplify step1 (#81)

Co-authored-by: Christopher W. Blake <[email protected]>

Author: FidelusAleksander

.github/steps/1-preparing.md

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Let's start up our development environment, use copilot to learn a bit about the
 
 1. Confirm the **Repository** field is your copy of the exercise, not the original, then click the green **Create Codespace** button.
 
-   - ✅ Your copy: `/{{{full_repo_name}}}`
+   - ✅ Your copy: `/{{full_repo_name}}`
    - ❌ Original: `/skills/getting-started-with-github-copilot`
 
 1. Wait a moment for Visual Studio Code to load in your browser.
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ Let's start up our development environment, use copilot to learn a bit about the
 
 1. If this is your first time using GitHub Copilot, you will need to accept the usage terms to continue.
 
-1. Enter the below prompt to ask Copilot to introduce you to the project.
+1. Enter the below prompt to ask Copilot to introduce you to the project. Use Copilot **Ask Mode** for this prompt.
 
    > ![Static Badge](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Prompt-text?style=social&logo=github%20copilot)
    >
@@ -98,28 +98,12 @@ Great work! Now that we are familiar with the app and we know it works, let's as
    > ![Static Badge](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Prompt-text?style=social&logo=github%20copilot)
    >
    > ```prompt
-   > Hey copilot, how can I create and publish a new Git branch?
-   > ```
-
-   > **Tip:** This is a simple example, but Copilot is great at providing more tailored commands that might involve loops, pattern matching, file modification, and more! Don't be afraid to ask Copilot for a suggestion. Just remember it is a suggestion and you should always verify it first to be safe.
-
-1. Copilot probably gave us a command like the following. Rather than manually modify it, let's respond back to tell Copilot to use a particular name.
-
-   ```bash
-   git checkout -b {new_branch_name}
-   git push -u origin {new_branch_name}
-   ```
-
-   > ![Static Badge](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Prompt-text?style=social&logo=github%20copilot)
-   >
-   > ```prompt
-   > Awesome! Thanks, Copilot! Let's use the
-   > branch name "accelerate-with-copilot".
+   > Hey copilot, how can I create and publish a new Git branch called "accelerate-with-copilot"?
    > ```
 
    > **Tip:** If Copilot doesn't give you quite what you want, you can always continue explaining what you need. Copilot will remember the conversation history for follow-up responses.
 
-1. Now that we are happy with the command, press the `Run` button to let Copilot run it for us. No need to copy and paste!
+1. Press the `Run` button to let Copilot insert the terminal command for us. No need to copy and paste!
 
 1. After a moment, look in the VS Code lower status bar, on the left, to see the active branch. It should now say `accelerate-with-copilot`. If so, you are all done with this step!
 

.github/steps/4-copilot-on-github.md

@@ -6,19 +6,19 @@ Congratulations! You are finished with coding for this exercise (and VS Code). N
 
 Typically, you would review your notes and commit messages then summarize them for your pull request description. This may take some time, especially if commit messages are inconsistent or code is not documented well. Fortunately, Copilot can consider all changes in the pull request and provide the important highlights, and with references too!
 
-> [!NOTE]  
+> [!NOTE]
 > This feature is not available in **GitHub Copilot Free**. [[docs]](https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-cloud@latest/copilot/using-github-copilot/using-github-copilot-for-pull-requests/creating-a-pull-request-summary-with-github-copilot)
 
 #### Copilot code review
 
 More eyes on our work is always useful so let's ask Copilot to do a first pass before we do a normal peer review process. Copilot is great at catching common mistakes that are fixed by simple adjustments, but please remember to use it responsibly.
 
-> [!NOTE]  
+> [!NOTE]
 > This feature is not available in **GitHub Copilot Free**. [[docs]](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/using-github-copilot/code-review/using-copilot-code-review)
 
 ### :keyboard: Activity: Summarize and review a PR with Copilot
 
-Both **Copilot pull request summaries** and **Copilot code review** have limited access, so this activity is mostly optional. If you have access, Mona will gladly check your work though! If not, you can skip the optional steps.
+Both **Copilot pull request summaries** and **Copilot code review** have limited access, so this activity is mostly optional. If you have access, go ahead and try them though! If not, you can skip the optional steps.
 
 1. In a web browser, open another tab and navigate to your exercise repository.
 

.github/steps/x-review.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Here's a recap of your accomplishments:
   - Use Copilot to fix issues found during a pull request review.
   - Use Copilot to generate tests and documentation.
   - Use Copilot with different models.
-- Check out the other [GitHub Skills exercises](https://skills.github.com).
+- Check out the other [GitHub Skills exercises](https://learn.github.com/skills).
   - Learn how to [Integrate MCP with Copilot](https://github.com/skills/integrate-mcp-with-copilot)
   - Try GitHub Copilot Coding Agent in the [Expand your team with Copilot](https://github.com/skills/expand-your-team-with-copilot) exercise
 

.github/workflows/0-start-exercise.yml

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ jobs:
     if: |
       !github.event.repository.is_template
     name: Start Exercise
-    uses: skills/exercise-toolkit/.github/workflows/start-exercise.yml@v0.6.0
+    uses: skills/exercise-toolkit/.github/workflows/start-exercise.yml@v0.7.0
     with:
       exercise-title: "Getting Started with GitHub Copilot"
       intro-message: "Welcome to the exciting world of GitHub Copilot! 🚀 In this exercise, you'll unlock the potential of this AI-powered coding assistant to accelerate your development process. Let's dive in and have some fun exploring the future of coding together! 💻✨"
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: [start_exercise]
     env:
-      ISSUE_URL: ${{ needs.start_exercise.outputs.issue-url }}
+      ISSUE_NUMBER: ${{ needs.start_exercise.outputs.issue-number }}
+      ISSUE_REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
@@ -39,33 +40,26 @@ jobs:
         with:
           repository: skills/exercise-toolkit
           path: exercise-toolkit
-          ref: v0.6.0
+          ref: v0.7.0
 
-      - name: Build comment - add step content
-        id: build-comment
-        uses: skills/action-text-variables@v2
+      - name: Create comment - add step content
+        uses: GrantBirki/[email protected]
         with:
-          template-file: ${{ env.STEP_1_FILE }}
-          template-vars: |
+          repository: ${{ env.ISSUE_REPOSITORY }}
+          issue-number: ${{ env.ISSUE_NUMBER }}
+          file: ${{ env.STEP_1_FILE }}
+          vars: |
             login: ${{ github.actor }}
             full_repo_name: ${{ github.repository }}
 
-      - name: Create comment - add step content
-        run: |
-          gh issue comment "$ISSUE_URL" \
-            --body "$ISSUE_BODY"
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          ISSUE_BODY: ${{ steps.build-comment.outputs.updated-text }}
-
       - name: Create comment - watching for progress
-        run: |
-          gh issue comment "$ISSUE_URL" \
-            --body-file "exercise-toolkit/markdown-templates/step-feedback/watching-for-progress.md"
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        uses: GrantBirki/[email protected]
+        with:
+          repository: ${{ env.ISSUE_REPOSITORY }}
+          issue-number: ${{ env.ISSUE_NUMBER }}
+          file: exercise-toolkit/markdown-templates/step-feedback/watching-for-progress.md
 
-      - name: Disable current workflow and enable next one
+      - name: Enable next step workflow
         run: |
           gh workflow enable "Step 1"
         env:

.github/workflows/1-preparing.yml

@@ -16,14 +16,15 @@ env:
 jobs:
   find_exercise:
     name: Find Exercise Issue
-    uses: skills/exercise-toolkit/.github/workflows/find-exercise-issue.yml@v0.6.0
+    uses: skills/exercise-toolkit/.github/workflows/find-exercise-issue.yml@v0.7.0
 
-  check_step_work:
-    name: Check step work
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+  post_next_step_content:
+    name: Post next step content
     needs: [find_exercise]
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
-      ISSUE_URL: ${{ needs.find_exercise.outputs.issue-url }}
+      ISSUE_REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}
+      ISSUE_NUMBER: ${{ needs.find_exercise.outputs.issue-number }}
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
@@ -34,75 +35,34 @@ jobs:
         with:
           repository: skills/exercise-toolkit
           path: exercise-toolkit
-          ref: v0.6.0
-
-      - name: Update comment - checking work
-        run: |
-          gh issue comment "$ISSUE_URL" \
-            --body-file exercise-toolkit/markdown-templates/step-feedback/checking-work.md \
-            --edit-last
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-      # START: Check practical exercise
-
-      # Nothing to verify. Creating the branch is enough for now.
-      # In a future update, we will check that the codepsace is running and that the website is visible.
+          ref: v0.7.0
 
-      # END: Check practical exercise
-
-      - name: Build message - step finished
-        id: build-message-step-finish
-        uses: skills/action-text-variables@v2
+      - name: Create comment - step finished
+        uses: GrantBirki/[email protected]
         with:
-          template-file: exercise-toolkit/markdown-templates/step-feedback/step-finished-prepare-next-step.md
-          template-vars: |
+          repository: ${{ env.ISSUE_REPOSITORY }}
+          issue-number: ${{ env.ISSUE_NUMBER }}
+          file: exercise-toolkit/markdown-templates/step-feedback/step-finished-prepare-next-step.md
+          vars: |
             next_step_number: 2
 
-      - name: Update comment - step finished
-        run: |
-          gh issue comment "$ISSUE_URL" \
-            --body "$ISSUE_BODY" \
-            --edit-last
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          ISSUE_BODY: ${{ steps.build-message-step-finish.outputs.updated-text }}
-
-  post_next_step_content:
-    name: Post next step content
-    needs: [find_exercise, check_step_work]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    env:
-      ISSUE_URL: ${{ needs.find_exercise.outputs.issue-url }}
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-
-      - name: Get response templates
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          repository: skills/exercise-toolkit
-          path: exercise-toolkit
-          ref: v0.6.0
-
       - name: Create comment - add step content
-        run: |
-          gh issue comment "$ISSUE_URL" \
-            --body-file "$STEP_2_FILE"
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        uses: GrantBirki/[email protected]
+        with:
+          repository: ${{ env.ISSUE_REPOSITORY }}
+          issue-number: ${{ env.ISSUE_NUMBER }}
+          file: ${{ env.STEP_2_FILE }}
 
       - name: Create comment - watching for progress
-        run: |
-          gh issue comment "$ISSUE_URL" \
-            --body-file exercise-toolkit/markdown-templates/step-feedback/watching-for-progress.md
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        uses: GrantBirki/[email protected]
+        with:
+          repository: ${{ env.ISSUE_REPOSITORY }}
+          issue-number: ${{ env.ISSUE_NUMBER }}
+          file: exercise-toolkit/markdown-templates/step-feedback/watching-for-progress.md
 
       - name: Disable current workflow and enable next one
         run: |
-          gh workflow disable "Step 1"
+          gh workflow disable "${{github.workflow}}"
           gh workflow enable "Step 2"
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}