Copilot Instructions Generator

A GitHub Copilot skill and agent for creating high-quality .github/copilot-instructions.md files.

What's Included

.github/
├── agents/
│   └── copilot-instructions-expert.agent.md   # Agent that uses the skill
└── skills/
    └── copilot-instructions-generator/        # The skill
        ├── SKILL.md                           # Main skill instructions
        ├── references/
        │   ├── template.md                    # File template
        │   ├── validation-checklist.md        # Quality checklist
        │   └── official-resources.md          # GitHub docs links
        └── assets/examples/                   # 24 tech-stack examples
            ├── dotnet-csharp.md
            ├── python.md
            ├── react-typescript.md
            └── ... (21 more)

How It Works

Skills vs Agents

• Skills are loaded automatically when Copilot determines they're relevant based on your prompt
• Agents are manually selected from the agents dropdown

Two Ways to Use

Option 1: Use the Skill (Automatic)

Simply ask Copilot to create copilot instructions:

• "Create copilot instructions for this project"
• "Generate copilot-instructions.md"
• "Set up copilot config for my React app"

The skill will be automatically loaded based on these trigger phrases.

Option 2: Use the Agent (Manual Selection)

1. Open the agents dropdown in VS Code / IDE
2. Select @copilot-instructions-expert
3. Ask for help creating copilot instructions

The agent explicitly references and uses the skill's templates and examples.

Installation

1. Copy the .github folder to your repository root:

   your-repo/
   └── .github/
       ├── agents/
       └── skills/
   

2. Enable Agent Skills in VS Code (if needed):

   • Open Settings
   • Search for chat.useAgentSkills
   • Enable the checkbox

3. Verify installation:

   • Ask Copilot: "Create copilot instructions for this project"
   • The skill should be loaded automatically

Included Tech-Stack Examples

Category	Technologies
Backend	.NET/C#, Python, FastAPI, Java, Spring Boot, Go, Scala, Node.js
Frontend	TypeScript, React, Angular, AngularJS, Next.js, Blazor
Mobile	Android Kotlin, Android Java, Kotlin Multiplatform
Data	PySpark, Scala Spark, Python AI/ML
Infrastructure	Terraform, Terraform AWS, Terraform Azure, Bicep
Analytics	Tableau Cloud, Tableau Desktop

Agent References Skill

The agent (copilot-instructions-expert.agent.md) references the skill using Markdown links:

1. **Main Instructions**: [SKILL.md](../skills/copilot-instructions-generator/SKILL.md)
2. **Template**: [template.md](../skills/copilot-instructions-generator/references/template.md)

This ensures the agent always follows the skill's best practices and templates.

Can You Force an Agent to Use a Skill?

No direct enforcement mechanism exists. However:

1. Skills are auto-loaded when prompts match their description
2. Agents can reference skills via Markdown links (as done here)
3. The agent's instructions tell it to read the skill first

The agent in this package explicitly instructs Copilot to:

1. Read the SKILL.md first
2. Load relevant tech-stack examples
3. Use the template structure
4. Validate against the checklist

License

MIT