Fixed the contradicting sentence

[Monzingo89]

Here the documentation states that copilot will not be able to edit specific excluded files that are configured. The next sentence then states it will “not” ignore them and it will have the ability to see and update them. I’ve fixed this contradiction so that now the documentation make sense.

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Pull Request Overview

This PR corrects a contradiction in the documentation regarding how Copilot Coding Agent handles content exclusions. The fix clarifies that when content exclusions are configured, Copilot will properly ignore those files and not be able to see or update them, rather than the previous incorrect statement that it would "not ignore" them.

• Corrected the contradictory statement about content exclusions behavior

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copilot/concepts/agents/coding-agent/about-coding-agent.md	fpt ghec	fpt ghec

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[Sharra-writes]

@Monzingo89 Let me make sure this wasn't some badly worded warning about what excluding files is incapable of doing (ingrained wariness from dealing with gitignore and trying to explain what it actually does), and hopefully I can then just accept these edits since they definitely appear to make sense.

[Sharra-writes]

@Monzingo89 Okay, that's what I was afraid of. What the sentence is trying to say is that Copilot coding agent specifically will not ignore the files you've configured Copilot to ignore, but it's not just coding agent. Agent mode in Copilot Chat in IDEs and Copilot CLI also don't follow the restrictions. Those don't appear relevant for this article, though. I'm going to see if I can update the language to be a little clearer.

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[Monzingo89]

Wait so its getting excluded FROM the ignore? Are you sure, that doesn't seem intuitive. Wouldn't you only want to exclude a few files so only a few files in the ignore, if its excluded FROM the ignore you don't want anything included in the ignore by default but if you just want to exclude 1 file you have to add every OTHER file? Robert Justin Monzingo Texas Tech University Graduate B.B.A. in Management Information Systems

…

On Wed, Oct 22, 2025 at 1:57 PM Sharra-writes ***@***.***> wrote: ***@***.**** commented on this pull request. ------------------------------ In content/copilot/concepts/agents/coding-agent/about-coding-agent.md <#40939 (comment)>: > @@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ Users can include hidden messages in issues assigned to {% data variables.produc * **{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} does not sign its commits**. If you have the "Require signed commits" rule or branch protection enabled, you must rewrite the commit history in order to merge {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %}'s pull requests. See [AUTOTITLE](/repositories/configuring-branches-and-merges-in-your-repository/managing-rulesets/available-rules-for-rulesets#require-signed-commits). * **{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} does not work with self-hosted {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} runners**. {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} has access to its own development environment, running in {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}, and must use {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-hosted runners. See [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/customizing-copilot/customizing-the-development-environment-for-copilot-coding-agent#upgrading-to-larger-github-hosted-github-actions-runners). * **{% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %} does not work in personal repositories owned by {% data variables.enterprise.prodname_managed_users %}**. This is because {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %} requires {% data variables.product.company_short %}-hosted runners, which are not available to repositories owned by {% data variables.enterprise.prodname_managed_users %}. See [AUTOTITLE](/actions/using-github-hosted-runners/using-github-hosted-runners/about-github-hosted-runners). -* **{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} doesn't account for content exclusions**. Content exclusions allow administrators to configure {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} to ignore certain files. When using {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %}, {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} will not ignore these files, and will be able to see and update them. See [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/managing-copilot/configuring-and-auditing-content-exclusion/excluding-content-from-github-copilot). +* **{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} doesn't account for content exclusions**. Content exclusions allow administrators to configure {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} to ignore certain files. When using {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %}, {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} will ignore these files, and will not be able to see or update them. See [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/managing-copilot/configuring-and-auditing-content-exclusion/excluding-content-from-github-copilot). ⬇️ Suggested change -* **{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} doesn't account for content exclusions**. Content exclusions allow administrators to configure {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} to ignore certain files. When using {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %}, {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} will ignore these files, and will not be able to see or update them. See [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/managing-copilot/configuring-and-auditing-content-exclusion/excluding-content-from-github-copilot). +* **{% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %} doesn't account for content exclusions**. Content exclusions allow administrators to configure {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} to ignore certain files. When using {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %}, {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} will not ignore these files, and will be able to see and update them. See [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/managing-copilot/configuring-and-auditing-content-exclusion/excluding-content-from-github-copilot). I think updating the variable to make it clear we're talking about Copilot coding agent ignoring content exclusions, instead of mixing it up with Copilot generally, is the easiest fix. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#40939 (review)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ADZQLZGVG42GOZKSPWFB4VL3Y7HRXAVCNFSM6AAAAACJ4BQV2WVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43YUDVNRWFEZLROVSXG5CSMV3GSZLXHMZTGNRXGE2TANZVGI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Sharra-writes]

@Monzingo89 The ignore configuration just doesn't work with coding agent, agent mode in an IDE, or Copilot CLI. If you follow the "read more" link at the end, it says so in a box at the top. I'm not an engineer and can't explain why, but I'm pretty sure the wrong variable was just used at the beginning of that little section. The other sections mostly use the variable for coding agent, and the whole thing makes sense as-is if you just change the variable, and also fits with what the "more information" link says.