DevSession CLI

Source: Dev.to

This is a submission for the GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge

What I Built

I built DevSession, a lightweight PHP‑based CLI tool that helps developers track focused development sessions with context, not just time.

Developers often know how long they worked, but not what they actually accomplished. DevSession solves this by allowing you to start and end a session and then automatically summarizing:

• how long the session lasted
• which git commits were made
• which files were changed
• what the session was about

Everything runs locally, stores data in a simple JSON file, and works entirely from the terminal. No background daemons, no cloud sync, and no configuration.

To me this project is about intentional work: consciously stating a session, focusing, and then getting a clear summary of what really happened.

Demo

Project repository: DevSession

Overview

Start a session

Check status

End session

View today’s work

View history

My Experience with GitHub Copilot CLI

I used GitHub Copilot CLI as a terminal‑native pair programmer throughout the project. Instead of switching between editor, browser, and documentation, I stayed in the CLI and described what I wanted in natural language. Copilot CLI helped me move faster while keeping full control over architecture and decisions.

Designing the CLI Interface

Early on, I used Copilot CLI to explore and refine the command structure, deciding which commands were essential (start, end, status, today, log). Keeping the scope intentionally small helped avoid over‑engineering and focus on real productivity value.

Building a PHP CLI Architecture

Although PHP isn’t the most common choice for CLI tools, I intentionally chose it to demonstrate that clean, framework‑free CLI applications are absolutely viable in PHP. With Copilot, I bootstrapped the command dispatcher, refined error‑handling patterns suitable for CLI usage, and iterated on a clean command‑based architecture. Copilot accelerated the boilerplate without dictating design decisions.

Git Integration

DevSession is git‑aware: it enriches sessions with git context when available, but it is not git‑dependent—it works just as well outside a git repository. Copilot CLI helped me construct git commands to list commits since a timestamp, retrieve changed files during a session, and handle edge cases where git isn’t available.

Overall Impact

The biggest benefit of GitHub Copilot CLI wasn’t just speed; it was focus. I spent less time searching documentation, recalling command syntax, and context‑switching. I had more time to think about behavior and make deliberate design choices. Copilot didn’t replace decision‑making; it amplified it.

Thanks for reading and thanks to the DEV and GitHub teams for the challenge!