29 free prompts · all verified
GitHub Copilot prompts
Repository custom-instruction files and Copilot Chat prompts — the difference between Copilot autocompleting your habits and Copilot following your standards.
Every prompt lists the exact tool and version it was tested against.
Write a .github/copilot-instructions.md file Copilot actually followsA repository-wide custom-instructions file that Copilot loads automatically into every Chat request, code-review pass, coding-agent session, and commit or PR-description generation in this repo, written so each rule holds up standing alone instead of only in the context it was written in.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)GitHub Copilot code review2026-07-20Scope Copilot's instructions to one directory with an applyTo instructions fileA path-scoped .github/instructions/*.instructions.md template using the applyTo frontmatter glob, so a directory-specific rule — a different test framework, a stricter API contract, a legacy pattern that must not spread — applies only where it is actually true instead of polluting the repo-wide instructions file.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)GitHub Copilot coding agent2026-07-21Define a custom Copilot Chat mode instead of re-explaining your workflow every sessionA .github/chatmodes/*.chatmode.md definition — scoped tools, a fixed model, and a narrow system prompt — that turns a repeated review-and-plan style of conversation into a mode you switch into once, instead of a persona you re-describe in the first message every time.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)2026-07-22Turn a prompt you keep retyping into a Copilot prompt file instead of pasting it againA .github/prompts/*.prompt.md reusable prompt file with input placeholders, invoked as a slash command from the Chat input box, so a well-tuned multi-paragraph prompt becomes one command instead of a paste you have to keep re-finding.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)2026-07-22Configure separate Copilot instructions for commit messages, PR descriptions, reviews, and testsA VS Code settings.json block wiring distinct instruction sets for commit-message generation, pull-request-description generation, code review, and test generation, so each of Copilot's task-specific generators gets rules suited to what it is actually producing instead of inheriting one general-purpose file uniformly.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)GitHub Copilot (VS Code Source Control)2026-07-23Force Copilot Workspace through spec, plan, and pilot before it writes real codeA Copilot Workspace brief that keeps the tool's three built-in stages — specification, plan, and implementation — from collapsing into one pass, requiring a reviewable spec and a dependency-ordered plan, plus a one-file pilot for anything touching more than a couple of files.GitHub Copilot Workspace2026-07-24Write an issue tight enough to hand the Copilot coding agent unattendedAn issue template for the @copilot coding agent that bounds file scope, states a testable done-state, flags the sandbox's own network limits, and tells the agent exactly how to handle a blocker instead of guessing silently through it.GitHub Copilot coding agent2026-07-24Brief VS Code's Copilot agent mode for an autonomous task without losing the leashA task brief for Copilot's agent mode in VS Code — the mode that plans, edits across files, runs terminal commands, and iterates against its own results in a loop — scoped tightly enough with a stated done-state, terminal allowlist, and checkpoints that its autonomy stays inside a boundary you actually chose.GitHub Copilot agent mode (VS Code)2026-07-25Plan a multi-file migration before Copilot Edits touches a single file in the working setA migration brief for Copilot Edits that forces a dependency-ordered plan across an explicit working set of files and a one-file pilot checkpoint before any multi-file rewrite starts.GitHub Copilot Edits (VS Code)GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)2026-07-26Ask @workspace where something is actually handled before you change itAn @workspace chat prompt that maps every file touching a piece of behavior across the whole repo before you edit it, separating the source of truth from its consumers, instead of trusting whatever file happens to be open.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)2026-07-27Get Copilot to explain a terminal failure using the actual run, not the command in isolationA prompt for the @terminal chat participant that pulls in the integrated terminal's real output, exit behavior, and last-known-good state so Copilot diagnoses what this specific run did, not what the command usually does when it works.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)2026-07-27Point Copilot Chat at the exact code with context variables instead of hoping it infers scopeA context-variable discipline for the Chat input box — #selection, #file, #codebase, and #sym — that tells Copilot precisely what it is being asked about instead of leaving scope to whatever tab happens to be open.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)2026-07-28Turn a UI screenshot into a scoped Copilot Vision task instead of a vague match this requestA Copilot Vision prompt for an attached screenshot — a design mock, a visual bug, a rendered diff against a spec — that forces a specific, checkable read of the image before any code gets proposed from it.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)2026-07-29Make Copilot Chat trace a stack frame to a root cause before it proposes a fixA diagnosis-first debugging prompt that walks Copilot Chat down the actual stack trace, frame by frame, and requires a named root cause before any fix is proposed, so the fix addresses what is really wrong rather than the first plausible-looking cause.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)GitHub Copilot Chat (JetBrains)2026-07-29Chain /explain into /fix into /tests instead of running any of them coldA three-step slash-command sequence for the Copilot Chat panel where each command's output becomes the explicit input to the next, so a fix maps to a stated concern instead of whichever issue looked most fixable, and the tests actually probe the regression risk that started the session.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)2026-07-30Get a test suite that targets edge cases and regressions, not a mirror of the implementationA standalone test-generation prompt for Copilot Chat that forces a deliberate enumeration of edge cases, boundary values, and failure modes before any test is written, so the suite catches what the code might get wrong instead of restating what it currently does.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)GitHub Copilot Chat (JetBrains)2026-07-31Generate docstrings that describe what the code actually does, not what its name impliesA documentation-generation prompt that requires each docstring claim to be checked against the real function body first, so documentation does not quietly repeat a misleading name or a stale comment instead of the real behavior.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)2026-07-31Steer Copilot's automated PR review at the risk that actually keeps you up at nightA PR-description addendum that redirects GitHub Copilot's automated code review toward the specific parts of a diff you are genuinely unsure about, instead of the roughly even pass it gives a diff by default.GitHub Copilot code review2026-08-01Treat a Copilot Autofix suggestion as a claim to verify, not a fix to acceptA verification pass for a GitHub code-scanning alert with an Autofix suggestion attached, structured to confirm the fix closes the actual exploit path rather than just the pattern the scanner matched on, before the one-click accept happens.GitHub Copilot AutofixGitHub code scanning (CodeQL)2026-08-02Point Copilot at the accessibility failures a visual review would missAn accessibility-focused review prompt for a UI diff that walks through keyboard operability, screen-reader semantics, focus visibility, and color contrast against the actual rendered markup, instead of a general checklist recited without checking whether each item applies here.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)GitHub Copilot code review2026-08-03Pair gh copilot suggest with explain before running anything it returnsA suggest-then-explain pairing for GitHub Copilot in the CLI that treats the returned command as a claim to check against a stated risk tolerance, not something to paste and run the moment it looks plausible.GitHub Copilot CLIGitHub CLI (gh)2026-08-04Get Copilot's commit message to explain why a change exists, not just list what movedA prompt for Copilot's Source Control commit-message generation that supplies the context a diff alone never contains, so the generated message states the reason for the change instead of a mechanical restatement of the files it touched.GitHub Copilot (VS Code Source Control)2026-08-05Choose the right model in Copilot Chat's model picker instead of leaving it on default for everythingA task-classification prompt that states the actual reasoning demand of the work before picking a model from Copilot Chat's picker, so a quick mechanical rename and a genuine architectural tradeoff are not both run on whichever model happened to be selected last.GitHub Copilot Chat (VS Code)GitHub Copilot Chat (JetBrains)2026-08-06Turn a PR review into a repo-specific checklist Copilot Chat actually runs against the diffA Copilot Chat prompt that reviews a pull request against your team's actual blocking criteria — not a generic 'looks good' pass — by naming the specific risk areas, house conventions, and severity rules before it ever reads the diff.GitHub Copilot Chat2026-08-09Get Copilot Chat to explain a gnarly legacy function the way a teammate would, not a syntax tourA targeted /explain-style prompt for one confusing piece of legacy code, aimed at the actual reason it's confusing and the business logic behind it, instead of a line-by-line narration of syntax the reader already knows.GitHub Copilot Chat2026-08-08Push Copilot's /tests beyond the happy path with edge cases it won't reach for on its ownA prompt that layers named edge cases and mocking boundaries on top of Copilot Chat's /tests generation, so the resulting suite exercises the failure paths you actually care about instead of one clean happy-path test per function.GitHub Copilot Chat2026-08-11Write an integration test plan for a multi-service flow, not just another mocked unit testGets Copilot Chat to design an integration test that exercises a real multi-step flow across actual dependencies — a database, a queue, a second internal service — instead of quietly producing another unit test with everything mocked out.GitHub Copilot Chat2026-08-12Generate an API reference straight from the route handlers, not from what you remember they doA Copilot Chat prompt that builds an API reference table by reading the actual route handler code via #codebase, catching drift between what an endpoint was designed to do and what it currently, actually does.GitHub Copilot Chat2026-08-13Write a README a new contributor could follow without pinging you on day oneBuilds a developer-facing README from the repo's actual structure and setup steps, tested against the specific gotchas that trip up a first-time contributor, instead of a generic 'clone and npm install' template.GitHub Copilot Chat2026-08-14
