Skip to content

Add .github/copilot-instructions.md for coding agent onboarding#3

Merged
NullPointerDepressiveDisorder merged 5 commits into
mainfrom
copilot/add-copilot-instructions
Dec 2, 2025
Merged

Add .github/copilot-instructions.md for coding agent onboarding#3
NullPointerDepressiveDisorder merged 5 commits into
mainfrom
copilot/add-copilot-instructions

Conversation

Copilot AI commented Dec 2, 2025

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Onboard repository to Copilot coding agent by documenting build commands, project structure, and conventions to reduce exploration time and build failures.

Contents

  • Repository overview: Swift 5.9+/macOS 15.0+ menu bar app, SwiftUI + AppKit, ~15 source files
  • Build instructions: CI xcodebuild command and local ./build.sh script; macOS-only (cannot build on Linux)
  • Project structure: Complete file tree with Core/, Managers/, Models/, UI/, Utilities/ layers
  • CI/CD workflows: Build, Release, and Homebrew tap update triggers
  • Implementation details: Private MultitouchSupport.framework access, code signing approaches, SPM dependencies (Sentry, SimpleAnalytics)
  • Code conventions: Swift naming, MARK comments, singleton patterns, NotificationCenter usage
  • Feature addition guide: Maps feature types to relevant files
MiddleDrag/
├── MiddleDrag/
│   ├── Core/              # Gesture detection, mouse synthesis, private API bindings
│   ├── Managers/          # MultitouchManager (coordinator), DeviceMonitor
│   ├── Models/            # GestureConfiguration, UserPreferences, touch structs
│   ├── UI/                # MenuBarController, AlertHelper
│   └── Utilities/         # PreferencesManager, LaunchAtLoginManager, AnalyticsManager
Original prompt

Your task is to "onboard" this repository to Copilot coding agent by adding a .github/copilot-instructions.md file in the repository that contains information describing how a coding agent seeing it for the first time can work most efficiently.

You will do this task only one time per repository and doing a good job can SIGNIFICANTLY improve the quality of the agent's work, so take your time, think carefully, and search thoroughly before writing the instructions.

- Reduce the likelihood of a coding agent pull request getting rejected by the user due to generating code that fails the continuous integration build, fails a validation pipeline, or having misbehavior. - Minimize bash command and build failures. - Allow the agent to complete its task more quickly by minimizing the need for exploration using grep, find, str_replace_editor, and code search tools. - Instructions must be no longer than 2 pages. - Instructions must not be task specific.

Add the following high level details about the codebase to reduce the amount of searching the agent has to do to understand the codebase each time:

  • A summary of what the repository does.
  • High level repository information, such as the size of the repo, the type of the project, the languages, frameworks, or target runtimes in use.

Add information about how to build and validate changes so the agent does not need to search and find it each time.

  • For each of bootstrap, build, test, run, lint, and any other scripted step, document the sequence of steps to take to run it successfully as well as the versions of any runtime or build tools used.
  • Each command should be validated by running it to ensure that it works correctly as well as any preconditions and postconditions.
  • Try cleaning the repo and environment and running commands in different orders and document errors and and misbehavior observed as well as any steps used to mitigate the problem.
  • Run the tests and document the order of steps required to run the tests.
  • Make a change to the codebase. Document any unexpected build issues as well as the workarounds.
  • Document environment setup steps that seem optional but that you have validated are actually required.
  • Document the time required for commands that failed due to timing out.
  • When you find a sequence of commands that work for a particular purpose, document them in detail.
  • Use language to indicate when something should always be done. For example: "always run npm install before building".
  • Record any validation steps from documentation.

List key facts about the layout and architecture of the codebase to help the agent find where to make changes with minimal searching.

  • A description of the major architectural elements of the project, including the relative paths to the main project files, the location
    of configuration files for linting, compilation, testing, and preferences.
  • A description of the checks run prior to check in, including any GitHub workflows, continuous integration builds, or other validation pipelines.
  • Document the steps so that the agent can replicate these itself.
  • Any explicit validation steps that the agent can consider to have further confidence in its changes.
  • Dependencies that aren't obvious from the layout or file structure.
  • Finally, fill in any remaining space with detailed lists of the following, in order of priority: the list of files in the repo root, the
    contents of the README, the contents of any key source files, the list of files in the next level down of directories, giving priority to the more structurally important and snippets of code from key source files, such as the one containing the main method.
- Perform a comprehensive inventory of the codebase. Search for and view: - README.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, and all other documentation files. - Search the codebase for build steps and indications of workarounds like 'HACK', 'TODO', etc. - All scripts, particularly those pertaining to build and repo or environment setup. - All build and actions pipelines. - All project files. - All configuration and linting files. - For each file: - think: are the contents or the existence of the file information that the coding agent will need to implement, build, test, validate, or demo a code change? - If yes: - Document the command or information in detail. - Explicitly indicate which commands work and which do not and the order in which commands should be run. - Document any errors encountered as well as the steps taken to workaround them. - Document any other steps or information that the agent can use to reduce time spent exploring or trying and failing to run bash commands. - Finally, explicitly instruct the agent to trust the instructions and only perform a search if the information in the instruction...

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits December 2, 2025 07:26
Co-authored-by: NullPointerDepressiveDisorder <96403086+NullPointerDepressiveDisorder@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: NullPointerDepressiveDisorder <96403086+NullPointerDepressiveDisorder@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Add Copilot instructions for onboarding repository Add .github/copilot-instructions.md for coding agent onboarding Dec 2, 2025
@NullPointerDepressiveDisorder NullPointerDepressiveDisorder marked this pull request as ready for review December 2, 2025 07:29
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings December 2, 2025 07:30

Copilot AI left a comment

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Pull request overview

This PR adds comprehensive Copilot coding agent instructions to help automated tools work efficiently with the MiddleDrag repository. The document provides build commands, project structure details, CI/CD workflow information, and coding conventions to minimize exploration time and build failures for coding agents.

Key Changes:

  • Documents CI and local build processes with validated xcodebuild commands
  • Maps project architecture with file locations across Core/, Managers/, Models/, UI/, and Utilities/ directories
  • Specifies Swift package dependencies, code signing requirements, and private framework usage
  • Provides feature-to-file mapping for common development tasks

💡 Add Copilot custom instructions for smarter, more guided reviews. Learn how to get started.

Comment thread .github/copilot-instructions.md Outdated
Comment thread .github/copilot-instructions.md
Comment thread .github/copilot-instructions.md
Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Signed-off-by: Karan Mohindroo <96403086+NullPointerDepressiveDisorder@users.noreply.github.com>
@NullPointerDepressiveDisorder NullPointerDepressiveDisorder merged commit e5f18d2 into main Dec 2, 2025
4 checks passed
@NullPointerDepressiveDisorder NullPointerDepressiveDisorder deleted the copilot/add-copilot-instructions branch December 2, 2025 07:53
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

documentation Improvements or additions to documentation

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

3 participants