Key Facts
GitHub has unveiled an open-source emoji list generator built during a live stream, powered by the GitHub Copilot CLI. The tool intelligently maps bullet points to relevant emojis and runs entirely in the terminal.
Developed during the weekly 'Rubber Duck Thursdays' stream, the project, called 'Emoji List Generator,' is now freely available on GitHub. It marks one of the first public demonstrations of the Copilot CLI's plan and autopilot modes for rapid prototyping.
How It Works
Users paste or type a list of bullet points into the terminal interface. Pressing Ctrl+S triggers an AI engine—using the GitHub Copilot SDK—to replace each item with an appropriate emoji. The enriched list is then automatically copied to the clipboard.
The terminal UI is built with OpenTUI, an open-source library for building terminal interfaces. Clipboard access is handled by the clipboardy library. The entire workflow leverages Copilot CLI's plan mode for design and autopilot mode for implementation.
Technologies Used
- @opentui/core — terminal user interface
- @github/copilot-sdk — AI brain for emoji matching
- clipboardy — clipboard manipulation
- GitHub Copilot CLI — planning and coding assistant (Claude Sonnet for planning, Claude Opus for execution)
"This project showcases the power of the Copilot CLI to rapidly prototype useful tools," said a GitHub spokesperson. "It's a fun demonstration of how plan mode and autopilot can turn a simple idea into working software in minutes."
Background
The generator was built during the third episode of GitHub's Rubber Duck Thursdays—a weekly live stream where the team builds projects alongside the community. The project's concept came from a common pain point: writing social media announcements with bullet points and manually selecting emojis.
Using Copilot CLI's plan mode (powered by Claude Sonnet 4.6), the developer outlined the requirements: an AI-powered markdown emoji list generator that replaces bullet points with relevant emojis and copies the result. Copilot asked clarifying questions about the tech stack, and the chat community suggested OpenTUI. The plan was saved as `plan.md`.
Implementation followed using Copilot CLI's autopilot mode with the recently released Claude Opus 4.7. Within minutes, a functional terminal UI with a black background and a text input area appeared, ready for testing.
What This Means
The emoji list generator demonstrates a new workflow: developers can now go from an idea to a working CLI tool in under 30 minutes using natural language prompts alone. The use of multi-model planning and execution—Claude Sonnet for design, Claude Opus for coding—showcases how different AI models can be chained for optimal results.
For developers, this signals a shift toward faster prototyping where AI handles the scaffolding, letting humans focus on iteration. The open-source release invites community contributions and could serve as a template for other small CLI utilities.
"We expect to see many more such projects as the Copilot CLI matures," the spokesperson added. "This is just a glimpse of what's possible when you combine plan mode, autopilot, and a willingness to experiment live."
The full source code is available on GitHub. To build your own version, refer to the background section for the technologies used and explore the GitHub Copilot CLI and GitHub Copilot SDK documentation.