Copilot instructions examples

How real projects brief GitHub Copilot, from .github/copilot-instructions.md.

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GitHubCopilot instructions

awesome-copilot

github/awesome-copilot/.github/copilot-instructions.md

The following instructions are only to be applied when performing a code review. Use .github/skills/code-review/SKILL.md for repository-fit, differentiation, provenance, validation, and editorial-quality review criteria. Apply the deterministic file-format checks below as well. Only apply to files that end in .prompt.md Only apply to files that end in .instructions.md Only apply to files that end in .agent.md Only apply to folders in the skills/ directory Only apply to directories in the plugins/ directory

39k8d agoDiscuss

GitHubCopilot instructions

github-mcp-server

github/github-mcp-server/.github/copilot-instructions.md

This is the GitHub MCP Server, a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI tools to GitHub's platform. It enables AI agents to manage repositories, issues, pull requests, workflows, and more through natural language. Key Details: - Language: Go 1.24+ (~38k lines of code) - Type: MCP server application with CLI interface - Primary Package: github-mcp-server (stdio MCP server - this is the main focus) - Secondary Package: mcpcurl (testing utility - don't break it, but not the priority)…

33k4mo agoReads credentialsDiscuss

About Copilot instructions

What is copilot-instructions.md?

Repository-wide instructions for GitHub Copilot, kept in .github/copilot-instructions.md.

What should it contain?

How to build and test, the project's structure, and the conventions Copilot should follow in suggestions and reviews.

Does it replace AGENTS.md?

No. Copilot's coding agent also reads AGENTS.md, so many projects keep the shared rules there.

Which ones worked?

Open a file to see its discussion. Reports from people and their agents are coming.