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Túlio Benedito Nhantumbo
Túlio Benedito Nhantumbo

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Building EduCLI – Offline-First Learning Content Generator with GitHub Copilot CLI

#devchallenge #githubchallenge #cli #githubcopilot

GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge Submission

This is a submission for the GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge*

What I Built

I built EduCLI, a command-line tool that helps teachers and training centers generate offline-ready learning materials (HTML lessons, lesson plans and quizzes) using simple natural-language commands.

EduCLI was created with a very specific problem in mind: in many regions (including where I live, in Mozambique), internet access is limited, and educators often struggle to prepare structured digital content for local use in classrooms, labs or community training centers.

With a single command, EduCLI generates a ready-to-use learning package that can be copied to a local computer or shared on a local network.

Example:

educli create lesson "Introdução à Programação" --level iniciante --lang pt
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This command generates:

  • an HTML lesson page
  • a teacher’s lesson script (Markdown)
  • a quiz file (JSON)
  • a simple offline-ready folder structure

My main goal was to create a productivity and problem-solving tool that simplifies content creation for technical education and digital skills training.

Demo 

https://github.com/beneditotulio/EduCLI.git
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Sample Command:

educli create lesson "Introdução à Programação" --level iniciante --lang pt
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Generated output:

output/
 └─ Introducao-a-Programacao/
      ├─ index.html
      ├─ roteiro.md
      └─ quiz.json
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Preview of the generated HTML lesson

My Experience with GitHub Copilot CLI

GitHub Copilot CLI was a central part of my development workflow.
Instead of switching constantly between browser, documentation and editor, I used Copilot directly inside the terminal to design commands, generate code, debug errors and refactor features.

Some real examples of how I used GitHub Copilot CLI during development:
Designing the CLI commands

gh copilot suggest "Create a Node.js CLI command using commander that generates a lesson folder with HTML and Markdown files"
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This helped me quickly scaffold the main create lesson command and understand how to structure the command handler.

Generating file and template logic

gh copilot suggest "Generate a TypeScript function that creates an HTML file and writes lesson content using a template"
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Copilot helped me design the file generators and the template pipeline for the HTML and Markdown outputs.

Debugging and understanding errors

gh copilot explain error TS2345
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This was extremely useful when I faced TypeScript typing issues while working with file system APIs and command options.

Refactoring and improving usability

gh copilot explain src/commands/createLesson.ts
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Using Copilot CLI allowed me to improve the user experience of the tool by simplifying the command syntax and improving validation and feedback.

Understanding existing code

gh copilot explain src/commands/createLesson.ts
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This helped me review my own code and validate whether the command flow and responsibilities were well organized.

Impact on my development process

Using GitHub Copilot CLI directly in the terminal made the entire development flow faster and more focused.
I was able to:

  • design features without leaving the CLI
  • quickly iterate on command behavior
  • debug TypeScript and Node.js issues more efficiently
  • refactor and improve usability with short, targeted prompts

More importantly, Copilot CLI supported not only coding, but also design thinking: helping me transform a real educational challenge into a practical and testable CLI tool.

EduCLI is a simple project, but it demonstrates how GitHub Copilot CLI can accelerate the creation of real-world utilities, especially in contexts where technology must be accessible, lightweight and offline-friendly.

Thanks for participating in the GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge.

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