*.md`¶

Summary¶

Domain or task-specific instruction files for GitHub Copilot. Unlike the global .github/copilot-instructions.md, these scoped instructions allow developers to chunk logic for varying workspaces or languages, enabling Copilot Chat and generation to select context-relevant code guidelines.

Tool¶

Primary: GitHub Copilot (github-copilot)

Support level¶

planned — v0.3

Canonical path(s)¶

.github/instructions/*.md

Alternate / legacy path(s)¶

None documented.

File format¶

Standard Markdown (.md). - Headings are encouraged for structure. - Often kept concise so as not to overwhelm standard token contexts.

Frontmatter¶

None.

Discovery / scope behavior¶

Search: Copilot natively discovers and parses any .md file stored within the .github/instructions/ repository directory.
Scope: Typically scoped dynamically based on user interaction (specifying @file instructions in chat prompt references) or through contextual inference.
Merge Strategy: Pre-pended alongside system prompts during Copilot Chat interactions when triggered.

Repo-safe¶

Yes. Meant to be committed in source control alongside .github/workflows to ensure Copilot rules are distributed repo-wide.

Renderer notes¶

Target ID: copilot-instructions-scoped
Output path: .github/instructions/
Template: templates/.github/instructions.j2
OutputTargets field: copilot_instructions_scoped: bool
Notes: Similar to cursor-rules, this will cleanly split out globally defined repo paths into a default.md alongside individual [role_name].md files reflecting the specialized constraints inside the YAML configs.

Known limitations / gotchas¶

Scoped instructions do not currently possess a documented internal "globbing" parameter like cursor-rules or clinerules to automatically gate themselves on exact paths. Efficacy heavily relies on the developer explicitly @ mentioning them in chat, or Copilot's inference engine selecting them.

Official references¶

GitHub Copilot Documentation - Adding Custom Instructions to your repository: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/customizing-copilot/adding-custom-instructions-for-github-copilot (accessed 2026-03-07)

Minimal example¶

# Frontend Style Rules

When creating components:
- Use Tailwind CSS for styling exclusively.
- Build components as pure functions in `src/components/`.
- Ensure all states use React Hooks.

Internal mapping notes¶

Not yet implemented.

copilot-instructions-scoped — .github/instructions/*.md¶