Prompts
Summary
This post explains what prompts are in the context of GitHub Copilot Chat, how to create reusable prompts in the .github/prompts directory, and how to automatically include them in Copilot Chat using the github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions setting. An example and useful references are provided.
For more tips on writing effective prompts and using Copilot efficiently, see the Best Practices for Using GitHub Copilot section below.
Understanding Prompts in GitHub Copilot Chat
Prompts are instructions or context you provide to GitHub Copilot Chat to guide its code generation or responses. Well-crafted prompts help Copilot understand your intent, resulting in more accurate and relevant suggestions.
Creating Custom Prompts
You can create reusable prompts by adding .prompt.md files in your repository’s .github/prompts directory. Each file should contain a specific instruction or context you want Copilot to use.
Steps:
- Create a
.github/promptsdirectory in your repository if it doesn’t exist. - Add a Markdown file (e.g.,
readme.prompt.md) with your prompt content.
Example (.github/prompts/readme.prompt.md):
Always use 2 spaces for indentation and single quotes for strings.Automatically Including Prompts in Copilot Chat
To have Copilot Chat automatically use your custom prompts, configure the github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions setting in your workspace settings (e.g., .vscode/settings.json):
{
"github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions": [
{
"file": "readme.prompt.md"
}
]
}This tells Copilot Chat to include the content of readme.prompt.md as context for your requests.
Example
Suppose you want Copilot to always follow your project’s code style. Create .github/prompts/codestyle.prompt.md:
Always use 2 spaces for indentation and single quotes for strings.Then, update .vscode/settings.json:
{
"github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions": [
{ "file": "codestyle.prompt.md" }
]
}Now, Copilot Chat will automatically consider your code style instructions.