Custom repository instructions are now available for Copilot on GitHub.com (Public Preview)

Copilot chat on GitHub.com just leveled up! It now supports repository-specific custom instructions, giving you a more tailored and personalized chat experience. This means you can provide Copilot with important details about your development stack, coding standards, or even how you prefer to chat. 🎉

Now, you can use repository-specific custom instructions when chatting with Copilot in Visual Studio, VS Code and on GitHub.com

🚀 Getting Started

1. Create a .github/copilot-instructions.md file in your repository (if .github doesn’t exist yet, go ahead and create it).
2. Add your custom instructions to the file.

That’s it! Copilot chat will automatically apply these instructions whenever you’re chatting about that repository.

💡 Looking for ideas? Here are some examples to kick things off:

• JavaScript: “Omit semicolons in code examples.”
• Python: “We use Poetry for dependencies, not pip. Share instructions using Poetry.”
• General style preference: “Use arrow functions instead of traditional function expressions.”

Start customizing and make Copilot chat feel like an extension of your team! 🛠