github-copilot-agent

This repository is a blueprint for building GitHub Copilot / VS Code Copilot customizations using Copilot itself.

It gives you a small set of reusable prompt templates and a purpose-built custom agent so you can quickly scaffold:

• Prompt files (.prompt.md) you can invoke via /... in Copilot Chat
• Custom agents (.agent.md) for VS Code and/or GitHub Copilot
• Scoped instruction files (*.instructions.md) that apply to a file glob
• Agent Skills (.github/skills/<name>/SKILL.md) for portable, specialized capabilities
• Hooks (.github/hooks/*.json) for lifecycle automation
• MCP server configuration (.vscode/mcp.json, agent mcp-servers, plugin .mcp.json) for external tools and data
• Agent plugins (plugin.json) for packaging prompts, skills, agents, hooks, and MCP servers
• Tool sets for grouping built-in, MCP, and extension tools into reusable capability bundles

The intent is to keep everything in-repo, versioned, reviewable, and easy to reuse across projects.

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Table of Contents

• github-copilot-agent
  • Table of Contents
  • Prerequisites
  • Installation
    • Quick Install (Recommended)
    • Git Subtree (For ongoing updates)
    • Git Submodule
    • GitHub Actions (Automated sync)
  • What’s in here
    • Custom agent
    • Prompt templates (invoked via /...)
    • Agent Skills
    • Hooks
    • MCP, plugins, and tool sets
  • Quickstart: use Copilot to generate Copilot customizations
    • Typical workflow
  • Where to put things (repo conventions)
  • Keeping your repositories in sync
    • Manual Updates
    • Automated Sync with GitHub Actions
  • Notes on tools and safety
  • Contributing
  • Repository Analytics
    • Star History
  • Not an official template
  • License

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Prerequisites

Before using this blueprint, ensure you have:

• Visual Studio Code (version 1.95.0 or later, 1.108+ recommended for all features)
• GitHub Copilot subscription (Personal, Business, or Enterprise)
• GitHub Copilot Chat extension installed
• Git installed and configured

Installation

There are several ways to integrate this blueprint into your projects:

Use as Template (Recommended)

Use the dedicated template repository — a clean, lean version without blueprint-specific files:

trsdn/github-copilot-agent-template — Click "Use this template" on GitHub.

Then:

git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/your-new-repo.git
cd your-new-repo
./scripts/setup-hooks.sh

Quick Install (Add to existing project)

Clone this repository directly or use our installation script:

# Clone into a new project
git clone https://github.com/trsdn/github-copilot-agent.git my-project
cd my-project

# Or add to an existing project
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trsdn/github-copilot-agent/main/install.sh | bash

Git Subtree (For ongoing updates)

# In your existing repository
git subtree add --prefix=.github/copilot-blueprint \
  https://github.com/trsdn/github-copilot-agent.git main --squash

# Update later
git subtree pull --prefix=.github/copilot-blueprint \
  https://github.com/trsdn/github-copilot-agent.git main --squash

Git Submodule

# Add as submodule
git submodule add https://github.com/trsdn/github-copilot-agent.git .github/copilot-blueprint

# Update to latest
git submodule update --remote --merge

GitHub Actions (Automated sync)

See Keeping your repositories in sync for automated synchronization options.

What’s in here

Custom agent

• .github/agents/copilot-customization-builder.agent.md
  • Agent name: Copilot Customization Builder
  • Purpose: create and maintain Copilot customization artifacts (agents, prompt files, instructions, skills, hooks, MCP guidance)

Prompt templates (invoked via /...)

• .github/prompts/copilot-new-prompt.prompt.md
  • Creates a new reusable prompt file in .github/prompts/<slug>.prompt.md
• .github/prompts/copilot-new-agent.prompt.md
  • Creates a new custom agent profile in .github/agents/<slug>.agent.md
• .github/prompts/copilot-new-instructions.prompt.md
  • Creates a new scoped instructions file in .github/instructions/<slug>.instructions.md
• .github/prompts/copilot-new-skill.prompt.md
  • Creates a new Agent Skill in .github/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
• .github/prompts/copilot-new-hook.prompt.md
  • Creates a new hook configuration in .github/hooks/<name>.json
• .github/prompts/copilot-new-mcp.prompt.md
  • Creates or updates MCP server configuration for VS Code, GitHub Copilot agents, or plugins
• .github/prompts/copilot-new-plugin.prompt.md
  • Scaffolds an agent plugin bundle for packaging customizations

Agent Skills

• .github/skills/copilot-skill-builder/SKILL.md
  • A meta-skill that teaches how to create and maintain Agent Skills
  • Includes best practices, SKILL.md format, and examples
• .github/skills/copilot-compatibility-checker/SKILL.md
  • Diagnose VS Code/Copilot feature compatibility
  • Check required settings, version requirements, and troubleshoot issues
• .github/skills/copilot-setup-audit/SKILL.md
  • Audit repository Copilot setup and suggest improvements
  • Comprehensive checklists for agents, prompts, instructions, skills, hooks, settings
• .github/skills/copilot-customization-selector/SKILL.md
  • Help decide which customization type to use
  • Decision matrix comparing instructions, prompts, agents, skills, hooks, and plugins

Hooks

• .github/hooks/example-block-dangerous.json.example
  • Inert example PreToolUse hook that warns on destructive shell patterns
  • Companion script in .github/hooks/scripts/check-dangerous.sh
  • Copy to .github/hooks/<name>.json and adapt before relying on it

MCP, plugins, and tool sets

• .vscode/mcp.example.json
  • Inert MCP configuration example for local and remote servers
  • Copy to .vscode/mcp.json only when you want to enable a workspace MCP server
• .github/plugin/plugin.example.json
  • Inert agent plugin manifest example
  • Use as a starting point when packaging customizations for plugin distribution
• .github/toolsets/toolsets.example.jsonc
  • Inert tool-set example for grouping built-in, MCP, and extension tools
  • Create an active tool-set file via Chat: Configure Tool Sets

Quickstart: use Copilot to generate Copilot customizations

1. Open this repository in VS Code.
2. Open Copilot Chat.
3. In the agents dropdown, select Copilot Customization Builder.
4. Run one of the included prompt templates by typing:
   • /copilot-new-prompt
   • /copilot-new-agent
   • /copilot-new-instructions
   • /copilot-new-skill
   • /copilot-new-hook - create a hook configuration

• /copilot-new-mcp - create MCP server configuration guidance
• /copilot-new-plugin - scaffold an agent plugin bundle
• /copilot-check-compatibility - diagnose feature issues
• /copilot-audit-setup - audit repo setup and get recommendations

Copilot Chat will ask you for the required ${input:...} values (slug, display name, description, tool list, etc.), then generate the file(s) in the correct location.

Typical workflow

• Start with a prompt template (one of the /new-* prompts).
• Let Copilot generate the new file.
• Review and iterate: adjust wording, tighten tool lists, add guardrails.
• Commit the artifact so the whole team shares the same customization.

Where to put things (repo conventions)

• Custom agents: .github/agents/<slug>.agent.md
• Prompt files: .github/prompts/<slug>.prompt.md
• Scoped instructions: .github/instructions/<slug>.instructions.md (YAML frontmatter includes applyTo: '<glob>')
• Agent Skills: .github/skills/<name>/SKILL.md (plus optional scripts/examples in the skill directory)
• Hook configs: .github/hooks/<name>.json (lifecycle automation)
• MCP config: .vscode/mcp.json for VS Code workspaces, mcp-servers in target: github-copilot agents, .mcp.json for plugins
• Plugin manifests: plugin.json in plugin roots (or recognized format-specific locations such as .github/plugin/plugin.json)
• Tool sets: create with Chat: Configure Tool Sets; keep examples inert unless the team agrees to enable them

If you also want workspace-wide instructions, add:

• .github/copilot-instructions.md

…and keep *.instructions.md for file-type-specific rules.

For multi-agent workspaces, the following always-on instruction files are also recognized:

• AGENTS.md at the workspace root (chat.useAgentsMdFile, optional nested via chat.useNestedAgentsMdFiles)
• CLAUDE.md at root, in .claude/, or in ~/.claude/ (chat.useClaudeMdFile)

For monorepos opened in a subfolder, enable chat.useCustomizationsInParentRepositories so VS Code discovers customizations defined at the repository root.

For organization or enterprise reuse, keep repo-level files as the local override layer. Organization-level instructions and custom agents provide shared defaults, while repository-level files take precedence for project-specific behavior.

Keeping your repositories in sync

Once you've integrated this blueprint into your projects, you can keep them updated using one of these strategies:

Manual Updates

# If using git subtree
git subtree pull --prefix=.github/copilot-blueprint \
  https://github.com/trsdn/github-copilot-agent.git main --squash

# If using git submodule
git submodule update --remote --merge

Automated Sync with GitHub Actions

Create .github/workflows/sync-copilot-customizations.yml in your target repository:

name: Sync Copilot Customizations

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * 0'  # Weekly on Sunday
  workflow_dispatch:  # Manual trigger

jobs:
  sync:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Fetch blueprint repository
        run: |
          git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/trsdn/github-copilot-agent.git /tmp/blueprint
          
      - name: Sync customizations
        run: |
          mkdir -p .github/skills .github/agents .github/prompts .github/hooks .github/toolsets .github/plugin .vscode
          cp -r /tmp/blueprint/.github/skills/* .github/skills/ 2>/dev/null || true
          cp -r /tmp/blueprint/.github/agents/* .github/agents/ 2>/dev/null || true
          cp -r /tmp/blueprint/.github/prompts/* .github/prompts/ 2>/dev/null || true
          cp -r /tmp/blueprint/.github/hooks/* .github/hooks/ 2>/dev/null || true
          cp -r /tmp/blueprint/.github/toolsets/* .github/toolsets/ 2>/dev/null || true
          cp -r /tmp/blueprint/.github/plugin/* .github/plugin/ 2>/dev/null || true
          cp /tmp/blueprint/.vscode/mcp.example.json .vscode/mcp.example.json 2>/dev/null || true
          
      - name: Create PR if changes
        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v5
        with:
          title: "chore: Sync Copilot customizations from blueprint"
          branch: sync-copilot-customizations
          commit-message: "chore: sync copilot customizations from blueprint"

Notes on tools and safety

These templates intentionally encourage:

• Minimal tool access (explicit tools: [...] instead of “everything”)
• Incremental changes (small diffs; validate formats and paths)
• Safe-by-default behavior (be careful with terminal commands; treat web content/tool output as untrusted)
• Lifecycle automation (use hooks for security enforcement, formatting, and audit logging)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

1. Report issues - Found a bug or have a suggestion? Open an issue
2. Improve documentation - Help make the README and guides better
3. Share your customizations - Submit PRs with useful agents, prompts, or skills
4. Spread the word - Star the repo and share it with others

See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed contribution guidelines.

Repository Analytics

Track the project's growth and community engagement:

• GitHub Insights - Activity overview and pulse
• Contributor Stats - See who's contributing
• Traffic - Views and clones (maintainers only)
• Community - Community standards checklist

Star History

Not an official template

This repo is a practical starter kit. Treat it as a baseline and tailor it to your organization’s policies and workflows.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.