Guide
Reusable prompts in GitHub Copilot: instructions, prompt files and skills
GitHub Copilot gives you three places for reusable text. Rules that apply to every request go in .github/copilot-instructions.md, or in path-specific .instructions.md files. A prompt you run now and then goes, in VS Code, in a prompt file, .github/prompts/NAME.prompt.md, run by typing /NAME. A procedure you want across Copilot's surfaces goes in an agent skill in .github/skills, which the Copilot CLI, cloud agent and agent mode in VS Code, Visual Studio and JetBrains can load. Prompt files run only in VS Code's Local sessions, which is why VS Code itself suggests converting one to a skill when you need it elsewhere.
Short answer
- Every request:
.github/copilot-instructions.md. - A prompt you run in VS Code:
.github/prompts/NAME.prompt.md, then/NAME. - A procedure everywhere: an agent skill in
.github/skills. - Claude skills too: Copilot also reads
.claude/skills.
Which goes where
| Custom instructions | Prompt file | Agent skill | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | .github/copilot-instructions.md; .github/instructions/*.instructions.md | .github/prompts/*.prompt.md | .github/skills, .claude/skills or .agents/skills |
| When it's used | Automatically | When you run it with /NAME | When relevant to the work |
| Where it works | Copilot Chat, cloud agent, code review | VS Code Local sessions | Copilot app, CLI, cloud agent, code review, IDE agent mode |
From GitHub's and VS Code's docs, read 5 November 2026. GitHub notes that IDE support depends on the version you use.
A worked example
Illustration: a made-up business. A 6-person team kept a prompt file, .github/prompts/review-migration.prompt.md, that checks a database migration for missing indexes and unsafe column drops. It worked in VS Code, but the team also wanted the cloud agent to follow it on pull requests. They moved it to a skill:
- Folder:
.github/skills/review-migration/with aSKILL.md. - Description: "Reviews a database migration for missing indexes, unsafe drops and long locks. Use when a change adds or alters a migration file."
- Steps: the prompt file's checklist, plus the fix they kept asking for: "suggest a two-step drop for any column still read by the app".
- One example: a migration and the review comment they'd want.
- Checks: every finding names the line; every unsafe step has a safer alternative; nothing is reported without a reason.
"Use snake_case for table names" stayed in .github/copilot-instructions.md, because it applies to every request. They tested the skill on three past migrations, including one that had caused an outage, before deleting the prompt file.
Set yours up
- Move one-line rules into
.github/copilot-instructions.md. - Keep a quick VS Code-only prompt as a prompt file, if that's all you need.
- Make anything the team or the cloud agent should run an agent skill, with a "use when" description.
- Test it on three real inputs, including an awkward one.
- Commit the folders so the whole team, and Claude Code users, get the same skills.
Next step: the same skills for the whole team
Skills in the repository reach everyone who works in it. To get the whole team working the same way, see getting your team to use AI the same way; for what belongs in AGENTS.md instead of a skill, see SKILL.md vs AGENTS.md.
Skills for this
- AI practiceTurn a prompt into a skillTurns a prompt that works into a skill the whole team can reuse, with a valid name, a when-to-use description, steps, an output template, an example, and checks.
- AI practiceContext brief for an AI assistantWrites instructions for an AI assistant or agent: role, audience, can and can't, sources of truth, tools, format, examples, edge cases, and handoff.
- Operations and adminSOP from an explanation or recordingTurns an explanation or screen-recording transcript into an SOP with a trigger, roles, exact-label steps, decision points, checks, and an owner.
Questions
How do I save a reusable prompt for GitHub Copilot?
In VS Code, as a prompt file: a .prompt.md file in .github/prompts, run by typing / and its name in chat. Prompt files run only in VS Code's Local sessions, so for a procedure you want in the Copilot CLI or cloud agent too, write an agent skill in .github/skills instead.
What is the difference between Copilot custom instructions and prompt files?
Custom instructions, in .github/copilot-instructions.md, are applied automatically to every request. Prompt files are invoked by hand when you want that task. Rules for everything go in instructions; a task you run sometimes goes in a prompt file or a skill.
Can GitHub Copilot use Claude skills?
GitHub's docs list .claude/skills as one of the project skill folders Copilot reads, alongside .github/skills and .agents/skills, so a repository's skills can serve both tools. Supported folders depend on the Copilot surface, so check the setup guide for the one you use.
AI skill
Have your AI turn a prompt that works into a skill your team can reuse
Put this skill in AI Skill Pod and everyone on your team gets it in their Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT (Pro, Business, Enterprise): one invite link, free to start. Turn a prompt into a skill has your AI turn a prompt file or a prompt you keep retyping into an agent skill: a name, a "use when" description, the steps, a template and one example, ready for .github/skills.
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Sources
- GitHub Docs: Adding repository custom instructions — .github/copilot-instructions.md; path-specific NAME.instructions.md in .github/instructions with applyTo; AGENTS.md, nearest wins (read 2026-11-05)
- VS Code docs: Prompt files — .prompt.md files in .github/prompts or your profile; run with /name; invoked manually, unlike custom instructions; run only in Local harness sessions, so for others create or convert to an agent skill (read 2026-11-05)
- GitHub Docs: Agent skills — project skills in .github/skills, .claude/skills or .agents/skills; personal in ~/.copilot/skills or ~/.agents/skills; the Copilot app, CLI, cloud agent, code review, and agent mode in VS Code, Visual Studio and JetBrains (read 2026-11-05)