Building an emoji list generator with the GitHub Copilot CLI (opens in new tab)
Cassidy Williams describes building an AI-powered emoji list generator during GitHub’s Rubber Duck Thursdays livestream. The terminal application converts bullet points into relevant emojis, then copies the formatted Markdown list to the clipboard with a keyboard shortcut. The project demonstrates how GitHub Copilot CLI and SDK can quickly turn a small idea into a functional open-source tool. ## The Emoji List Generator - Runs directly in the terminal. - Accepts pasted or typed bullet points. - Uses AI to replace each bullet with a relevant emoji. - Generates the result when the user presses `Ctrl + S`. - Copies the completed list to the clipboard. - Exits with `Ctrl + C`. ## Technologies Used - `@opentui/core` provides the terminal user interface. - `@github/copilot-sdk` supplies the AI functionality. - `clipboardy` handles clipboard access. ## Building the Project with Copilot CLI - Development began in Copilot CLI’s plan mode using Claude Sonnet 4.6. - A natural-language prompt described the desired Markdown emoji generator and requested integration with the Copilot SDK. - Copilot asked clarifying questions about the technology stack and libraries. - It then produced a `plan.md` file for review. - The implementation was completed with Claude Opus 4.7 only a few minutes later. ## Copilot CLI Features Demonstrated The livestream project combined several Copilot CLI capabilities: - Plan mode for outlining the implementation. - Autopilot mode for carrying out development tasks. - A multi-model workflow using different Claude models. - The `allow-all` tools flag for permissive tool access. - The GitHub MCP server for GitHub-related integrations. The finished Emoji List Generator is available as a free, open-source project, alongside documentation for the GitHub Copilot CLI and SDK.