Modernizing one app in the IDE is powerful — but what about dozens or hundreds of repositories? In this episode, learn how to shift the same GitHub Copilot modernization workflow into the terminal using the CLI, delegate work to cloud coding agents that run in parallel, and get back reviewable artifacts (assessment reports, upgrade plans, diffs, and pull requests) on GitHub.

In this episode, you'll learn:
→ How to use the GitHub Copilot CLI modernize command to scan and modernize multiple repositories at once
→ How to delegate assessment and upgrade work to cloud coding agents that run in parallel
→ How to review consolidated assessment reports across multiple repos — blockers, upgrade needs, and technology distribution
→ How agents generate upgrade plans, apply changes, and produce pull requests you review like any other code change
→ How CLI-based modernization fits into CI/CD pipelines, scheduled jobs, and batch runs across your entire portfolio
→ Why modernization becomes continuous maintenance — not a one-off project — when it's scriptable and repeatable

📺 This is Episode 7 of the Modernize Java Apps with AI series — a 9-part, hands-on guide to upgrading legacy Java applications using GitHub Copilot.

🔗 Series playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlrxD0HtieHhaBJWlcxGd-kTDikSD4xyD
🔗 GitHub Copilot CLI: https://aka.ms/GHCPMod-Java

👤 Presented by Ayan Gupta, Java & AI Advocate, Microsoft

Java #GitHubCopilot #CLI #CICD #ModernizationAtScale #CloudCodingAgents #JavaModernization #DevOps #GitHub #EnterpriseJava

Microsoft Developer

A walkthrough of using GitHub Copilot CLI to modernize a multi-repo distributed system called Java Social at scale. The system consists of three separate services: a legacy .NET SOAP backend, a Java JSP/servlet frontend, and a Java background worker. Instead of working inside an IDE, the demo shows how to run the 'modernize' command from the terminal, which spins up parallel cloud coding agents — one per repository — to generate assessment reports and upgrade plans simultaneously. The resulting artifacts (assessment dashboards, upgrade plans, diffs, and pull requests) are reviewable on GitHub just like any other engineering work. The key insight is that this CLI-based approach enables modernization to be wired into CI/CD pipelines and scheduled jobs, turning it from a one-off project into regular, automated maintenance across large codebases.

Modernization at Scale with the CLI and CI/CD Pipelines