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Challenge 04 - Customizing GitHub Copilot in Your IDE - Coach's Guide

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Notes & Guidance

This challenge focuses on customizing GitHub Copilot behavior within the IDE using custom instructions and custom agents. The goal is to show how a small amount of guidance can immediately change Copilot’s output in a meaningful way. We aren't expecting long lengthy instruction files to be built

Students should focus on simple, high-impact rules that are easy to observe during the hackathon.

Key Concepts to Explain Before the Challenge

Custom Agent Instructions

  • Defined in .github/copilot-instructions.md at the repository root
  • Apply to all Copilot interactions in the workspace
  • Used to guide coding standards, testing expectations, and project conventions
  • Changes take effect immediately after file creation or modification

Chat Modes (Usage Only)

  • Chat modes are selected explicitly in the IDE
  • They provide a focused interactive experience
  • They do not override or replace agent instructions
  • Instructions always apply, regardless of the selected chat mode

Sample Instruction File below, many other examples in Awesome Copilot repo.

Example Agent Instructions (.NET)

Keep instructions short and concrete so behavior changes are obvious.

# GitHub Copilot Project Instructions

## Coding Standards
- Use C# and modern .NET conventions
- Prefer explicit types over `var` unless the type is obvious
- Use meaningful method and variable names
- Keep methods small and focused on a single responsibility

## Testing Expectations
- New game logic should include unit tests
- Use xUnit for testing
- Test names should describe behavior, not implementation
- Avoid testing UI code directly; focus on game logic