FAQ — common failures, quick fixes
Before you open this page: ask Copilot CLI itself first. Paste the error into the > prompt and ask “what does this mean, and how do I fix it?” — Copilot is right there, the whole point of this workshop is to train that muscle. Come here if Copilot’s answer does not land, or if you want a second opinion.
This page covers the top twenty failure modes from dry-runs. Keep it open in a tab during the workshop.
Install and auth
| Symptom |
Cause |
Fix |
node: command not found |
Node not installed |
nodejs.org → LTS installer → reopen terminal |
npm install -g @github/copilot fails with EACCES / permission denied on Mac/Linux |
Global npm needs sudo or a user prefix |
npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global then export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH then retry |
npm install -g silently blocked on Windows corp laptop |
MDM blocks global npm |
Use the Codespaces fallback for the day. Raise the access gap with IT afterwards. |
| Device code page opens but “authentication failed” |
Browser signed into wrong GitHub account |
Sign out of GitHub in browser, retry copilot — you will be prompted fresh |
copilot starts but says “no Copilot plan” |
Trial not activated or wrong account |
Verify at github.com/settings/copilot — must show Active |
| Anything else on the prereq check fails |
Corporate laptop policy, firewall, or proxy |
Use the Codespaces fallback. It solves all five prereq checks at once. |
MCP problems
| Symptom |
Cause |
Fix |
/mcp shows Learn MCP but “0 tools” |
Server started but handshake failed |
Restart Copilot CLI (/exit then copilot). If still zero, check firewall — Learn MCP needs HTTPS to learn.microsoft.com |
| Learn MCP “connection refused” |
Corporate firewall blocks Learn endpoint |
Switch to the Codespaces fallback — Codespaces runs outside your corp network. If you cannot switch mid-workshop, run the exercise without MCP for now: copilot -p "<prompt>". Narrate to the room that this is baseline vs grounded. |
| VS Code shows MCP server with red status |
Server failed to start |
Click the server entry in the MCP panel → View output. Usually a typo in .vscode/mcp.json |
| Azure MCP (Tier 3) “no credential” error |
az login not run in the same terminal |
Run az login in the shell VS Code inherited from, then restart the MCP server |
| GitHub MCP (Tier 2) 403 on issue create |
PAT scope wrong |
Token needs Repository → Issues: Read and write. Regenerate the PAT. |
Copilot answer problems
| Symptom |
What to say to the room |
| Brief is generic, does not reference Nordwind specifically |
“Prompt it again: ‘Rewrite this as if you are writing to Ingrid, quoting her actual words from the notes.’ The prompt is the product.” |
| Brief hedges everywhere |
“Ask it: ‘Remove every hedge. If you are not sure, cut the claim.’ Watch the second draft.” |
| Brief cites no Learn pages |
“Add to the prompt: ‘Include the URLs of the Learn pages you used.’ Grounded means cited.” |
| Copilot refuses / content filter |
Try a less loaded phrasing. Content filters on Copilot are conservative around anything that looks like it touches safety-critical systems. The brief itself is fine; ask it to “write a neutral technical assessment of the options”. |
Last-resort fallbacks
- One participant fully stuck — pair them with a neighbour who is working. They still get the experience.
- Network completely dead — do a live facilitator demo on the projector. Participants follow along mentally. Most of the learning is the pattern, not the typing.
- Copilot service outage — highly unlikely but possible. Open the
facilitator/sample-output.md sample brief on screen. Walk the room through how it was produced, prompt by prompt. Still valuable.
What NOT to do
- Do not try to fix someone’s install in the middle of the exercise block. Pair them up and move on.
- Do not edit other people’s
.vscode/mcp.json or config files from the facilitator laptop. Tell them what to type, let them type it.
- Do not extend the exercise past 25 minutes. The story needs the Trust Boundary close.