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TOPICS Customizing Copilot

IN THIS ARTICLE Define code-generation custom instructions

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Custom instructions for GitHub Copilot in VS Code

You can enhance Copilot's chat responses by providing it with contextual details about your team's workflow, tools, or project
specifics. Instead of manually including this context in every chat query, you can create a custom instructions file that
automatically incorporates this information with every chat request.

Copilot applies these instructions to chat prompts in the Chat view, Quick Chat, or Inline Chat. These instructions are not
displayed in the chat, but are passed to Copilot by VS Code.

You can specify custom instructions for specific purposes:

• Code-generation instructions - provide context specific for generating code. For example, you can specify that private
variables should always be prefixed with an underscore, or that singletons should be implemented a certain way. You
can specify code-generation instructions in settings, or in a Markdown file in your workspace.

• Test-generation instructions - provide context specific for generating tests. For example, you can specify that all
generated tests should use a specific testing framework. You can specify test-generation instructions in settings, or in a
Markdown file in your workspace.

• Code review instructions - provide context specific for reviewing the current editor selection. For example, you can
specify that the reviewer should look for a specific type of error in the code. You can specify review-selection
instructions in settings, or in a Markdown file in your workspace.

• Commit message generation instructions - provide context specific for generating commit messages. You can specify
commit-message-generation instructions in settings, or in a Markdown file in your workspace.

Custom instructions consist of natural language instructions and should be short, self-contained statements that add context
or relevant information to supplement chat questions.

Define code-generation custom instructions

Copilot can help you generate code, for example as part of a refactoring, generating unit tests, or implementing a feature. You
might have specific libraries you want to use in your project, or a particular coding style you want to follow for the code that
Copilot generates.

Note
Copilot does not apply code-generation instructions for code completions (/docs/copilot/ai-powered-suggestions).

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Use settings
You can configure custom code-generation instructions by using the
! (vscode://settings/github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions)github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions
setting. You can define custom instructions at the User or Workspace level, and you can also specify language-specific
instructions. Get more information about language-specific settings (/docs/editor/settings#_language-specific-editor-
settings).

The following code snippet shows how to define a set of instructions in the settings.json file. To define instruction directly
in settings, configure the text property. To reference an external file, configure the file property.

"github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions": [ Copy
{
"text": "Always add a comment: 'Generated by Copilot'."
},
{
"text": "In TypeScript always use underscore for private field names."
},
{
"file": "code-style.md" // import instructions from file `code-style.md`
}
],

An example of the contents of the code-style.md file:

Always use React functional components. Copy

Always add comments.

Use a .github/copilot-instructions.md file

You can also store custom instructions in your workspace or repository in a .github/copilot-instructions.md file and
have VS Code automatically picks up this file.

If you define custom instructions in both the .github/copilot-instructions.md file and in settings, Copilot tries to
combine instructions from both sources.

Note
GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio also detects the .github/copilot-instructions.md file. If you have a workspace that
you use in both VS Code and Visual Studio, you can use the same file to define custom instructions for both editors.

1 Set the
! (vscode://settings/
github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.useInstructionFiles)github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.useInstructionFiles
setting to true to instruct Copilot in VS Code to use the custom instructions file.

2 Create a .github/copilot-instructions.md file at the root of your workspace. If needed, create a .github directory
first.

Tip
In the Explorer view in VS Code, you can create the folder and directly in one operation by typing the full path as
the file name.

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3 Add natural language instructions to the file. You can use the Markdown format.

Whitespace between instructions is ignored, so the instructions can be written as a single paragraph, each on a new
line, or separated by blank lines for legibility.

Define test-generation custom instructions

You can use Copilot to generate tests for your code, for example by using the @workspace /tests prompt in the Chat view.
You can define custom instructions to help Copilot generate tests that are specific to your project and development workflow.

To configure custom test-generation instructions, use the

! (vscode://settings/github.copilot.chat.testGeneration.instructions)github.copilot.chat.testGeneration.instructions
setting. You can define custom instructions at the User or Workspace level.

The following code snippet shows how to define a set of instructions in the settings.json file. To define instruction directly
in settings, configure the text property. To reference an external file, configure the file property.

"github.copilot.chat.testGeneration.instructions": [ Copy
{
"text": "Always use vitest for testing React components."
},
{
"text": "Use Jest for testing JavaScript code."
},
{
"file": "code-style.md" // import instructions from file `code-style.md`
}
],

An example of the contents of the code-style.md file:

Always add code comments. Copy

Always use React functional components.

Define code review custom instructions

You can use Copilot to review a selection of code in the editor. You can define custom instructions to help Copilot take into
account specific code review criteria that are relevant to your project and development workflow.

To configure custom code review instructions, use the

! (vscode://settings/github.copilot.chat.reviewSelection.instructions)github.copilot.chat.reviewSelection.instructions
setting. You can define custom instructions at the User or Workspace level.

Define commit message generation custom instructions

In the Source Control view, you can use Copilot to generate a commit message for the pending code changes. You can define
custom instructions to help Copilot generate a commit message that takes into account specific formatting and structure that
are specific to your project and development workflow.

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To configure custom commit message generation instructions, use the

! (vscode://settings/
github.copilot.chat.commitMessageGeneration.instructions)github.copilot.chat.commitMessageGeneration.instructions
setting. You can define custom instructions at the User or Workspace level.

Tips for defining custom instructions

• Keep your instructions short and self-contained. Each instruction should be a single, simple statement. If you need to
provide multiple pieces of information, use multiple instructions.

• Don't refer to external resources in the instructions, such as specific coding standards.

• Make it easy to share custom instructions with your team or across projects by storing your instructions in an external
file. You can also version control the file to track changes over time.

Reusable prompt files (experimental)

Prompt files (prompts) let you build and share reusable prompt instructions with additional context. A prompt file is a
Markdown file that mimics the existing format of writing prompts in Copilot Chat (for example, Rewrite #file:x.ts ). This
allows blending natural language instructions, additional context, and even linking to other prompt files as dependencies.

While custom instructions help to add codebase-wide context to each AI workflow, prompt files let you add instructions to a
specific chat interaction.

Common use cases include:

• Code generation: create reusable prompts for components, tests, or migrations (for example, React forms, or API
mocks).
• Domain expertise: share specialized knowledge through prompts, such as security practices, or compliance checks.
• Team collaboration: document patterns and guidelines with references to specs and documentation.
• Onboarding: create step-by-step guides for complex processes or project-specific patterns.

Prompt file examples

• react-form.prompt.md - documents a reusable task for generating a form:

Your goal is to generate a new React form component. Copy

Ask for the form name and fields if not provided.

Requirements for the form:

- Use form design system components: [design-system/Form.md](../docs/design-system/Form.md)
- Use `react-hook-form` for form state management:
- Always define TypeScript types for your form data
- Prefer *uncontrolled* components using register
- Use `defaultValues` to prevent unnecessary rerenders
- Use `yup` for validation:
- Create reusable validation schemas in separate files
- Use TypeScript types to ensure type safety
- Customize UX-friendly validation rules

• security-api.prompt.md - documents reusable security practices for REST APIs, which can be used to do security

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reviews of REST APIs:

Secure REST API review: Copy

- Ensure all endpoints are protected by authentication and authorization
- Validate all user inputs and sanitize data
- Implement rate limiting and throttling
- Implement logging and monitoring for security events
…

Usage
To enable prompt files, configure the ! (vscode://settings/chat.promptFiles)chat.promptFiles VS Code setting. By default,
prompt files are located in the .github/prompts directory of your workspace. You can also specify additional folders where
prompt files are located.

Create a prompt file

1 Create a .prompt.md file in the .github/prompts directory of your workspace.

2 Write prompt instructions by using Markdown formatting.

Within a prompt file, reference additional workspace files as Markdown links ( [index](../index.ts) ), or as
#file:../index.ts references within the prompt file.

You can also reference other .prompt.md files to create a hierarchy of prompts, with reusable prompts that can be
shared across multiple prompt files.

Attach a prompt file to a chat request

1 Select the Attach Context " icon ( ⌘/ ), and then select Prompt....

2 Choose a prompt file from the Quick Pick to attach it to your chat request.

You can use prompt files in both Copilot Chat and Copilot Edits.

3 Optionally, attach additional context files required for the task.

For reusable tasks, send the prompt without any additional instructions.

To further refine a reusable prompt, include additional instructions to provide more context for the task at hand.

Tip
Reference additional context files like API specs or documentation by using Markdown links to provide Copilot with more
complete information.

Settings

Custom instructions settings

! (vscode://settings/
• github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions)github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions
(Experimental): A set of instructions that will be added to Copilot requests that generate code.

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! (vscode://settings/
• github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.useInstructionFiles)github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.useInstructionFiles
(Preview): Controls whether code instructions from .github/copilot-instructions.md are added to Copilot
requests.
! (vscode://settings/
• github.copilot.chat.testGeneration.instructions)github.copilot.chat.testGeneration.instructions
(Experimental): A set of instructions that will be added to Copilot requests that generate tests.
! (vscode://settings/
• github.copilot.chat.reviewSelection.instructions)github.copilot.chat.reviewSelection.instructions
(Preview): A set of instructions that will be added to Copilot requests for reviewing the current editor selection.
! (vscode://settings/
• github.copilot.chat.commitMessageGeneration.instructions)github.copilot.chat.commitMessageGeneration.instructions
(Experimental): A set of instructions that will be added to Copilot requests that generate commit messages.

Prompt files (experimental) settings

• ! (vscode://settings/chat.promptFiles)chat.promptFiles (Experimental): enable prompt files and specify prompt file
folder(s). Set to true to use the default location ( .github/prompts ), or use the { "/path/to/folder": boolean }
notation to specify a different path. Relative paths are resolved from the root folder(s) of your workspace.

Setting value Description

false (default) Disable prompt files.

true Enable prompt files. Use the default prompt file location ( .github/prompts ).

{ "/path/to/folder": Enable prompt files. Specify one or more folders where prompt files are located. Relative
boolean } paths are resolved from the root folder(s) of your workspace.

Related content

• Start AI chat conversations with Copilot Chat (/docs/copilot/copilot-chat).

• Start an AI-powered editing session with Copilot Edits (/docs/copilot/copilot-edits).

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