Custom Instructions in Copilot Chat (VS Code)

 

Custom instructions allow you to define reusable guidelines that automatically shape Copilot Chat’s responses — ensuring consistency, quality, and alignment with your project or team standards.

---

📝 Instruction File Types

File Type	Purpose	Applies To
.github/copilot-instructions.md	Workspace-wide defaults	All chat prompts in the workspace
*.instructions.md	Task/file-specific	Based on applyTo glob pattern

---

✅ How to Enable & Use

1. Enable setting
   In settings.json:

   "github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.useInstructionFiles": true
   

2. Create instructions file
   Options:

   • From Chat View → Configure Chat > Instructions > New instruction file

   • Or run: Chat: New Instructions File from Command Palette

3. Specify scope using frontmatter

   ---
   applyTo: "**/*.ts,**/*.tsx"
   ---
   

---

📂 Where to Store Instructions

Location	Notes
.github/	Workspace instructions (version-controlled)
VS Code User Profile	Reusable across projects
settings.json	Direct config for specialized tasks

---

✍️ Instruction File Format

---
applyTo: "**/*.py"
description: Python coding standards
---

# Python Guidelines
- Follow PEP 8 style.
- Prioritize readability.
- Add type hints.

• Use Markdown for formatting

• Link to other instructions: [see shared rules](./general-coding.instructions.md)

---

✨ Use Cases & Examples

✅ General Guidelines

---
applyTo: "**"
---
# Naming
- camelCase for vars/functions
- PascalCase for components
# Error Handling
- Use try/catch for async

✅ TypeScript + React

---
applyTo: "**/*.ts,**/*.tsx"
---
# React/TS Rules
- Use React.FC
- Prefer functional components
- Apply [general guidelines](./general-coding.instructions.md)

✅ Docs Writing

---
applyTo: "docs/**/*.md"
---
# Docs Style
- Use active voice
- Present tense only
- Include code blocks when helpful

---

🛠 Settings-based Instructions

In settings.json:

{
  "github.copilot.chat.pullRequestDescriptionGeneration.instructions": [
    { "text": "Always include a list of key changes." }
  ],
  "github.copilot.chat.reviewSelection.instructions": [
    { "file": "guidance/frontend-review-guidelines.md" }
  ]
}

---

⚡ Generate Instructions Automatically

1. Open Chat View

2. Configure Chat > Generate Instructions

3. Edit the generated .github/copilot-instructions.md

---

🔁 Sync Across Devices

• Enable Settings Sync in VS Code

• From Command Palette: Settings Sync: Configure

• Enable sync for Prompts and Instructions

---

💡 Best Practices

• 🧱 Keep each rule simple and atomic

• 🔄 Reuse and reference other instructions using links

• 📁 Use applyTo to scope rules to file types or folders

• 👥 Store in workspace to share with teams via Git

• 📚 Split files by language, task, or framework