We split this copilot-instructions.md into the rules it gives an agent

5 rules. About 0 are common, 5 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

• ≈0

  Common · estimate

  Many files like this have a rule of this kind.

• ≈5

  Distinctive · estimate

  This author's own choices. Worth a look.

• 0

  Very specific

  Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

• Common
• Distinctive
• Very specific

1. Distinctive:

   Check that the behavior scope matches the stated intent.

   line 6
2. Distinctive:

   Verify claims about external standards, platform conventions, accessibility, and design systems against the implementation.

   line 7
3. Distinctive:

   Avoid asking for unrelated refactors, stylistic churn, or backwards compatibility unless required by the change.

   line 8
4. Distinctive:

   Ensure public APIs and exported types do not leak implementation details.

   line 13
5. Distinctive:

   Call out missing tests when the changed behavior is risky.

   line 21

≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 3,669 Copilot instructions files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

• Where files are headingNew Copilot instructions files have more rules about branches and pull requests, and fewer about code style.

  Of the Copilot instructions files we read, the 2,297 first seen in the last six months, against the older ones: the kind of rule that gained most share, and the kind that lost most. About files like this in general, not this one, and an estimate, since a kind is a pattern in the words.

• In this repository2 other files it gives its agents.

  • AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
  • CLAUDE.mdCLAUDE.md