title	description	author	ms.date	ms.topic	keywords	estimated_reading_time
GitHub Copilot Instructions	Repository-specific coding guidelines and conventions for GitHub Copilot	HVE Core Team	2026-01-17	reference	copilot instructions coding standards guidelines	5

GitHub Copilot Instructions

Repository-specific guidelines that GitHub Copilot automatically applies when editing files. Instructions ensure consistent code style and conventions across the codebase.

How Instructions Work

1. Instruction files declare which file patterns they apply to using applyTo in frontmatter
2. GitHub Copilot reads instructions when editing matching files
3. Suggestions follow the documented standards automatically

Custom agents and the prompt-builder agent respect these instructions and can create new ones. See Contributing Instructions for authoring guidance.

Available Instructions

Language and Technology

File	Applies To	Purpose
coding-standards/bash/bash.instructions.md	**/*.sh	Bash script implementation standards
coding-standards/bicep/bicep.instructions.md	**/bicep/**	Bicep infrastructure as code patterns
coding-standards/csharp/csharp.instructions.md	**/*.cs	C# implementation and coding conventions
coding-standards/csharp/csharp-tests.instructions.md	**/*.cs	C# test code standards
coding-standards/rust/rust.instructions.md	**/*.rs	Rust development conventions
coding-standards/rust/rust-tests.instructions.md	**/*.rs	Rust test code standards
coding-standards/python-script.instructions.md	**/*.py	Python scripting implementation
coding-standards/terraform/terraform.instructions.md	**/*.tf, **/*.tfvars, **/terraform/**	Terraform infrastructure as code
coding-standards/uv-projects.instructions.md	**/*.py, **/*.ipynb	Python virtual environments using uv

Documentation and Content

File	Applies To	Purpose
hve-core/markdown.instructions.md	**/*.md	Markdown formatting standards
hve-core/writing-style.instructions.md	**/*.md	Voice, tone, and language conventions
hve-core/prompt-builder.instructions.md	**/*.prompt.md, **/*.agent.md, **/*.instructions.md	Prompt engineering artifact authoring

Git and Workflow

File	Applies To	Purpose
hve-core/commit-message.instructions.md	Commit actions	Conventional commit message format
hve-core/git-merge.instructions.md	Git operations	Merge, rebase, and conflict handling
hve-core/pull-request.instructions.md	**/.copilot-tracking/pr/**	PR generation workflow with subagents
pull-request.instructions.md	**/.copilot-tracking/pr/**	Repo-specific PR conventions

Azure DevOps Integration

File	Applies To	Purpose
ado/ado-create-pull-request.instructions.md	**/.copilot-tracking/pr/new/**	Pull request creation protocol
ado/ado-get-build-info.instructions.md	**/.copilot-tracking/pr/*-build-*.md	Build status and log retrieval
ado/ado-update-wit-items.instructions.md	**/.copilot-tracking/workitems/**/handoff-logs.md	Work item creation and updates
ado/ado-wit-discovery.instructions.md	**/.copilot-tracking/workitems/discovery/**	Work item discovery protocol
ado/ado-wit-planning.instructions.md	**/.copilot-tracking/workitems/**	Work item planning specifications

XML-Style Blocks

Instructions use XML-style comment blocks for structured content:

• Purpose: Enables automated extraction, better navigation, and consistency
• Format: Kebab-case tags in HTML comments on their own lines
• Examples: <!-- <example-bash> -->, <!-- <schema-config> -->
• Nesting: Allowed with distinct tag names
• Closing: Always required with matching tag names

<!-- <example-terraform> -->
```terraform
resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
  name     = "example-rg"
  location = "eastus"
}
```
<!-- </example-terraform> -->

Creating New Instructions

Use the prompt-builder agent to create new instruction files:

1. Open Copilot Chat and select prompt-builder from the agent picker
2. Provide context (files, folders, or requirements)
3. Prompt Builder researches and drafts instructions
4. Auto-validates with Prompt Tester (up to 3 iterations)
5. Delivered to .github/instructions/

For manual creation, see Contributing Instructions.

Directory Structure

.github/instructions/
├── ado/                              # Azure DevOps workflows
│   ├── ado-create-pull-request.instructions.md
│   ├── ado-get-build-info.instructions.md
│   ├── ado-update-wit-items.instructions.md
│   ├── ado-wit-discovery.instructions.md
│   └── ado-wit-planning.instructions.md
├── coding-standards/                 # Language and technology conventions
│   ├── bash/
│   │   └── bash.instructions.md
│   ├── bicep/
│   │   └── bicep.instructions.md
│   ├── csharp/
│   │   ├── csharp.instructions.md
│   │   └── csharp-tests.instructions.md
│   ├── rust/
│   │   ├── rust.instructions.md
│   │   └── rust-tests.instructions.md
│   ├── terraform/
│   │   └── terraform.instructions.md
│   ├── python-script.instructions.md
│   └── uv-projects.instructions.md
├── github/                           # GitHub integration
│   ├── community-interaction.instructions.md
│   ├── github-backlog-discovery.instructions.md
│   ├── github-backlog-planning.instructions.md
│   ├── github-backlog-triage.instructions.md
│   └── github-backlog-update.instructions.md
├── hve-core/                              # HVE Core workflow
│   ├── commit-message.instructions.md
│   ├── git-merge.instructions.md
│   ├── markdown.instructions.md
│   ├── prompt-builder.instructions.md
│   └── writing-style.instructions.md
├── shared/                           # Cross-collection
│   └── hve-core-location.instructions.md
└── README.md

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🤖 Crafted with precision by ✨Copilot following brilliant human instruction, then carefully refined by our team of discerning human reviewers.