Training course · GitHub Copilot · PHP & Laravel/Symfony

GitHub Copilot for PHP Developers

Use GitHub Copilot professionally: completions, chat, agent mode, the coding agent for issues and PRs, code review and enterprise policies.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“GitHub Copilot for PHP Developers” is designed for roles such as PHP developers working with Laravel or Symfony, Developers of e-commerce systems such as Shopware or Magento and Agency teams juggling many client projects in parallel and shows step by step how to use GitHub Copilot productively, safely and transparently in PHP & Laravel/Symfony – from the fundamentals to advanced workflows.

GitHub Copilot has grown from simple code completion into a broad AI platform that supports the entire development lifecycle. In the editor you work with inline suggestions, next edit suggestions and Copilot Chat; in agent mode Copilot handles tasks across multiple files and runs commands. On GitHub itself, the coding agent picks up assigned issues and delivers pull requests. In this two-day course you will learn how to use each of these building blocks deliberately and fit them cleanly into your existing development process.

Beyond hands-on editor work, the course covers control and quality. Custom instructions and prompt files give Copilot the project knowledge it needs, MCP adds further tools, and Copilot code review complements human reviewers. For those responsible for teams and organisations, we look at policies at organisation and enterprise level, content exclusions, model availability and usage reporting. Together, these lay the groundwork for a secure, transparent and genuinely effective Copilot rollout across the entire company.

PHP powers a large share of the web – from Laravel and Symfony applications to Shopware and Magento stores and bespoke platforms that have evolved over many years. As a result, modern framework projects frequently sit alongside legacy code without types, tests or Composer structure. AI coding assistants and agents help on both fronts: they write PHPUnit and Pest tests, bring code up to modern language standards with Rector, work through PHPStan findings level by level, generate Eloquent or Doctrine models with migrations and explain tangled legacy logic. The prerequisite is good context on framework conventions, coding standards and the test environment. This course teaches you to use agents so that modernisation becomes predictable and safe.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • PHP developers working with Laravel or Symfony
  • Developers of e-commerce systems such as Shopware or Magento
  • Agency teams juggling many client projects in parallel
  • Teams modernising legacy PHP applications

Typical challenges we address

  • Legacy code without type declarations, namespaces or automated tests
  • Laborious upgrades of PHP versions and major framework releases
  • Security risks from SQL injection, XSS and unsafe file uploads in old code
  • Tight deadlines on agency projects combined with high quality expectations

What you will be able to do

  • You use Copilot completions, chat and agent mode purposefully for your everyday development tasks.
  • You capture project knowledge in custom instructions and prompt files to improve output quality.
  • You delegate suitable issues to the coding agent and review its pull requests properly.
  • You integrate Copilot code review sensibly into your existing review process.
  • Use AI agents for tests, static analysis and upgrades in Laravel, Symfony and legacy projects.
  • Modernise legacy code incrementally and safely with AI support.
  • Recognise typical security flaws in generated and existing PHP code and fix them in a targeted way.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 Copilot in the editor: completions and chat
  • Accepting, rejecting and steering inline and next edit suggestions efficiently
  • Using Copilot Chat for explanations, debugging and test generation
  • Setting context precisely with files, selections, workspace and chat variables
  • Model selection and differences between VS Code, Visual Studio and JetBrains IDEs
Module 2 Agent mode and extensions
  • Planning multi-step tasks in agent mode and executing them under control
  • Feeding terminal commands, test runs and error output into the agent loop
  • Connecting MCP servers for additional tools and data sources
  • Reviewing changes, accepting them partially or rolling them back
Module 3 Project knowledge through custom instructions
  • Writing repository-wide instructions on architecture, style and testing
  • Creating path-specific instructions and reusable prompt files
  • Combining personal and organisation-wide guidance sensibly
  • Refining instructions continuously based on output quality
Module 4 Coding agent and code review on GitHub
  • Writing issues the coding agent can implement reliably
  • Reviewing, commenting on and iterating over the agent’s pull requests
  • Using Copilot code review as an additional check in the PR process
  • Configuring the agent’s development environment with setup steps and Actions

Day 2

Module 5 Administration, policies and security
  • Licence assignment and policies at organisation and enterprise level
  • Content exclusions, model availability and public code filters
  • Using audit logs and usage metrics to steer adoption
  • Clarifying security risks, secrets and accountability for AI-generated code
Module 6 Practice lab: PHP & Laravel/Symfony
  • Generating PHPUnit and Pest tests
  • Raising PHPStan levels step by step
  • Upgrades with Rector
  • Building Laravel and Symfony features
  • Understanding and untangling legacy code
  • Finding security vulnerabilities
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • PHP applications frequently process customer data from shops and portals, so database dumps and logs containing personal data must never go into prompts unfiltered. Check new Composer packages for licence and vulnerabilities, keep credentials from .env files out of context and, as an agency, agree contractually whether client code may be processed by AI services.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Generating PHPUnit and Pest tests

The agent writes unit and feature tests for controllers, services and models, uses factories and database transactions, and runs the tests iteratively until they pass consistently.

Raising PHPStan levels step by step

The AI works through static analysis findings systematically, adds type declarations, generics annotations and return types, and raises the analysis level in controlled steps without changing behaviour.

Upgrades with Rector

Rector rules are configured and run, remaining incompatibilities in PHP or framework upgrades are fixed by hand and deprecations surfaced in logs and tests are cleared systematically.

Building Laravel and Symfony features

From a functional description, the assistant creates migrations, Eloquent or Doctrine entities, form requests or validators, controllers, policies and tests – all in line with framework conventions.

Understanding and untangling legacy code

The assistant explains procedural legacy logic, extracts functions into namespaced classes and introduces Composer autoloading, laying the groundwork for further modernisation. Characterisation tests pin down the existing behaviour first.

Finding security vulnerabilities

The AI checks code for unsafe SQL queries, missing output escaping, CSRF gaps and insecure uploads, replacing problem areas with prepared statements and built-in framework mechanisms.

Possible hands-on projects

Laravel admin panel

A small management back end with authentication, roles, CRUD screens and feature tests, built by an AI agent from a short specification.

Symfony console importer

A Symfony console command that validates CSV or XML data, imports it into Doctrine entities and logs errors in a clear, readable way.

Upgrade readiness check

A script that runs PHPStan, a Rector dry run and Composer audit against a PHP project and produces a plain-language report on upgrade effort.

Prerequisites

You develop software regularly, work with Git and GitHub issues and pull requests, and use a modern IDE. Solid PHP skills and experience with Laravel or Symfony, Composer and Git.

Technical requirements

Your own laptop with VS Code or a JetBrains IDE, the Copilot extension installed and a GitHub account with an active Copilot licence; the coding agent requires a suitable plan.

Data protection & compliance

PHP applications frequently process customer data from shops and portals, so database dumps and logs containing personal data must never go into prompts unfiltered. Check new Composer packages for licence and vulnerabilities, keep credentials from .env files out of context and, as an agency, agree contractually whether client code may be processed by AI services.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Wed, 25 November 2026 – Thu, 26 November 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 7 December 2026 – Tue, 8 December 2026 Salzburg Request
  • Wed, 16 December 2026 – Thu, 17 December 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 13 January 2027 – Thu, 14 January 2027 Online Request
  • Wed, 27 January 2027 – Thu, 28 January 2027 Bremen Request
  • Mon, 1 February 2027 – Tue, 2 February 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between agent mode and the coding agent?

Agent mode runs inside your IDE: you work interactively with Copilot, see every step and approve commands. The coding agent, by contrast, works autonomously on GitHub once you assign it an issue, uses its own execution environment and opens a pull request that you then review just as you would a contribution from a colleague.

How can we make sure Copilot complies with our company policies?

At organisation and enterprise level you can enable or block specific features, models and extensions. Content exclusions keep sensitive files out of the context, and audit logs make usage traceable. During the course we show how to align these controls with data protection, information security requirements and your internal coding standards.

Is the course worthwhile if we already use Copilot?

Yes, especially then. Many teams rely on completions alone and barely touch chat, agent mode, custom instructions or the coding agent. The course shows how to use these features in a structured way, improve results with project knowledge and avoid common pitfalls. Experienced users benefit most from the sections on review and governance.

Is AI-assisted coding worthwhile for old PHP code without a framework?

That is exactly where it shines. AI assistants explain convoluted procedural logic, write characterisation tests that pin down existing behaviour and then introduce namespaces, autoloading and types step by step. This gives you a safe foundation for modernising legacy applications instead of attempting a risky full rewrite.

How should agencies handle client code and AI?

Agencies should agree with their clients contractually whether, and with which services, source code may be processed. On the course we discuss options such as business licences with no training on your data, exclusion rules for sensitive files and documented review processes that give your clients full transparency.

How much does “GitHub Copilot for PHP Developers” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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