Building a D&D inspired Dungeon Crawler with GitHub Copilot CLI

This is a submission for the GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge

Introduction

I set out to build a D&D dungeon crawler web game using TypeScript and React—a unique twist that uses Unix-style file system commands (ls, cd, chmod, cat) as gameplay mechanics in an effort to help me remember the commands.

With GitHub Copilot CLI, I transformed this from a scattered idea into a fully-tested, deployed web application in just a few hours.

TLDR; CLI Dungeon Crawler: Try it here

The Approach

Rather than building everything myself, I used Copilot CLI to plan out what exactly I wanted to build, then make smart architectural decisions, and validate everything with tests. Here's how:

1. Explore - Suggest and explore what I want to build
2. Design - Make informed architectural and technical decisions
3. Build - Implement with confidence
4. Test - Validate constantly
5. Deploy - Ship to Vercel

Results

✨ Deployed Features:

• Random Dungeon Generation (4-13 rooms, validated)
• Dynamic Boss System (difficulty scales with dungeon size)
• Smart Boss Spawn Detection (triggers when ready)
• Victory System (defeat boss to win)
• Real-time Combat UI (TypeScript/React)
• Expanded Unix-style Commands:
  • Navigation: ls, cd, pwd, tree, find
  • Interaction: cat, chmod, unlock, grep, touch, head, tail
  • Character: status, inventory, whoami
  • Combat: attack, defend, cast, flee (with a/d/s/f shortcuts)
  • System: help, history, man, echo, mv, rm, quit

How Copilot CLI Improved Development

1. Fast Architecture Understanding

Instead of manually reading code, I got precise answers: "How does dungeon generation work?" → immediate exploration results.

2. Confident Refactoring

Dynamic boss system required changes to game flow. Tests ran instantly. Zero breaking changes.

3. Better Design Decisions

Before implementing boss spawn logic, I verified:

• How room state is tracked
• The game flow architecture
• Best places for integration hooks

4. Comprehensive Testing

Created test suite covering:

• Room count constraints
• Boss difficulty scaling
• Victory detection
• State management

5. Ready for Production

Validated, tested code ready for Vercel deployment immediately.

Key Takeaways

Explore the codebase systematically before making changes

Write tests that validate business logic, not just happy paths

Get feedback immediately - tests run in seconds

Deploy with confidence - zero test regressions means zero surprises

Keep the development loop tight - explore → build → test → deploy

The Result

A fun, playable, fully-tested D&D dungeon crawler that:

• Works with random dungeons
• Scales difficulty automatically
• Has smart boss spawn logic
• Provides satisfying victory conditions
• Is well-documented
• Has comprehensive test coverage

But more importantly: a case study in how GitHub Copilot CLI can transform your development process from linear and error-prone to iterative and confident.

Play It Now

The game is deployed and playable. Visit the live application on here

This works way better on a computer vs phone just FYI

Conclusion

GitHub Copilot CLI really changed my approach to this whole project from start to finish
What changed:

• Detailed suggestions and creation of a plan
• Step by step implementation of suggested plan
• By breaking it into steps allowed me to test and build piece by piece
• Features were easy to add with its context of the project

All with zero test regressions and complete feature coverage.

If you're building something, use this workflow:

1. Explore thoroughly
2. Test constantly
3. Deploy with confidence

That's the power of GitHub Copilot CLI integrated into your development process.

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Austin Amento

Creator of CLI-DND

2026