GUIDE · CODING · #1887
Guide: Teach GitHub Copilot about your codebase with repo instructions, skills, agents, and MCP servers
GitHub's Copilot app guide explains four ways to give Copilot project-specific context: repository custom instructions (e.g., .github/copilot-instructions.md and path-specific files), agent skills (folders under .github/skills with SKILL.md), custom agents (.github/agents), and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers that connect Copilot to external tools and data such as Playwright. The article shows how these features can be combined so Copilot follows project conventions, loads repeatable procedures, provides specialized agent roles, and uses external services to interact with or test an application.
KEY POINTS
- GitHub's Copilot app guide explains four ways to give Copilot project-specific context: repository custom instructions (e.g., .github/copilot-instructions.md and path-specific files), agent skills (folders under .github/skills with SKILL.md), custom agents (.github/agents), and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers that connect Copilot to external tools and data such as Playwright.
- The article shows how these features can be combined so Copilot follows project conventions, loads repeatable procedures, provides specialized agent roles, and uses external services to interact with or test an application.
- Providing repository-specific context and tool integrations helps Copilot produce changes that conform to a project's conventions and can extend its capabilities beyond static code edits.
WHY IT MATTERS
Providing repository-specific context and tool integrations helps Copilot produce changes that conform to a project's conventions and can extend its capabilities beyond static code edits.