A curated collection of prompts, instructions, and chat modes to supercharge your GitHub Copilot experience across different domains, languages, and use cases.

🚀 What is Awesome GitHub Copilot?

This repository provides a comprehensive toolkit for enhancing GitHub Copilot with specialized:

- Focused, task-specific prompts for generating code, documentation, and solving specific problems
- Comprehensive coding standards and best practices that apply to specific file patterns or entire projects
- Specialized AI personas and conversation modes for different roles and contexts
- Curated collections of related prompts, instructions, and chat modes organized around specific themes and workflows

MCP Server

To make it easy to add these customizations to your editor, we have created a MCP Server that provides a prompt for searching and installing prompts, instructions, and chat modes directly from this repository. You'll need to have Docker installed and running to run the server.

Show MCP Server JSON configuration

{
  "servers": {
    "awesome-copilot": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "ghcr.io/microsoft/mcp-dotnet-samples/awesome-copilot:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

🔧 How to Use

There are two ways to use awesome-copilot customizations in your project:

🎛️ Configuration File Approach (Recommended)

Use our configuration system to manage all customizations in one place:

Clone the repository to your local machine and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/AstroSteveo/awesome-copilot
cd awesome-copilot
npm install

Navigate to your project directory where you want to add awesome-copilot customizations
Generate a configuration file with all available options:
```
node /path/to/awesome-copilot/awesome-copilot.js init
```

Edit the configuration to enable the items you want (or use the new CLI helpers):

collections:
  frontend-web-dev: true      # Enable entire collection
prompts:
  create-readme: true         # Enable specific prompts
instructions:
  typescript-best-practices: true

# List what is currently enabled
node /path/to/awesome-copilot/awesome-copilot.js list instructions

# Enable or disable individual items without editing YAML by hand
node /path/to/awesome-copilot/awesome-copilot.js toggle prompts create-readme on
node /path/to/awesome-copilot/awesome-copilot.js toggle instructions all off

Apply the configuration to copy files to your project:

node /path/to/awesome-copilot/awesome-copilot.js apply

See CONFIG.md for detailed configuration documentation.

⚖️ Configuration Precedence Rules

Awesome Copilot uses an effective state system that respects explicit overrides while allowing collections to provide convenient defaults. The effective state computation follows these precise rules:

Boolean Value Behavior:

true → enabled (explicit override)
false → disabled (explicit override)
undefined → inherit from collections (union of enabled collections)

Precedence Hierarchy:

Explicit Per-Item Overrides Take Precedence Over Collections

collections:
  testing-automation: true    # Enables 11 items including playwright-generate-test
prompts:
  playwright-generate-test: false  # Explicitly disabled, overrides collection
  create-readme: true             # Explicitly enabled, regardless of collections

Collections Enable Groups of Items

collections:
  frontend-web-dev: true     # Enables React, Vue, TypeScript items
  testing-automation: true   # Enables testing tools and frameworks

Undefined Items Inherit from Collections (Union Behavior)
- Items not explicitly listed (undefined) inherit from enabled collections
- Effective state = explicit override OR union of enabled collections
- Multiple enabled collections combine their items (union operation)
- Only explicitly set true/false values override collection settings

Detailed Examples:

# Configuration example showing precedence rules
collections:
  testing-automation: true     # Enables: playwright-generate-test, csharp-nunit, etc.
  frontend-web-dev: true       # Enables: react-component, vue-component, etc.

prompts:
  playwright-generate-test: false  # Explicitly disabled (overrides testing-automation)
  create-readme: true             # Explicitly enabled (regardless of collections)
  # vue-component: undefined      # Inherits from frontend-web-dev → enabled
  # api-testing: undefined        # Not in any enabled collection → disabled

# See effective states and why each item is enabled
awesome-copilot list prompts
# [✓] create-readme (explicit: true)
# [✓] vue-component (collection: frontend-web-dev)  
# [✓] react-component (collection: frontend-web-dev)
# [ ] playwright-generate-test (explicit: false - overrides collection)
# [ ] api-testing (disabled: not in any enabled collection)

# Collection toggle shows what will change
awesome-copilot toggle collections frontend-web-dev on
# Delta summary:
#   📈 8 items will be enabled:
#     + prompts/react-component
#     + prompts/vue-component
#     + instructions/typescript-best-practices

📁 Manual File Approach

Browse the collections and manually copy files you want to use:

🎯 Prompts

Use the / command in GitHub Copilot Chat to access prompts:

/awesome-copilot create-readme

📋 Instructions

Instructions automatically apply to files based on their patterns and provide contextual guidance for coding standards, frameworks, and best practices.

💭 Chat Modes

Activate chat modes to get specialized assistance from AI personas tailored for specific roles like architects, DBAs, or security experts.

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guidelines for details on how to:

Add new prompts, instructions, or chat modes
Improve existing content
Report issues or suggest enhancements

Quick Contribution Guide

Follow our file naming conventions and frontmatter requirements
Test your contributions thoroughly
Update the appropriate README tables
Submit a pull request with a clear description

📖 Repository Structure

├── prompts/          # Task-specific prompts (.prompt.md)
├── instructions/     # Coding standards and best practices (.instructions.md)
├── chatmodes/        # AI personas and specialized modes (.chatmode.md)
├── collections/      # Curated collections of related items (.collection.yml)
└── scripts/          # Utility scripts for maintenance

🌟 Getting Started

🔧 CLI Installation (Recommended)

Install awesome-copilot CLI for streamlined project setup:

# Step 1: Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/AstroSteveo/awesome-copilot
cd awesome-copilot

# Step 2: Install dependencies
npm install

# Step 3: Verify installation
node awesome-copilot.js help

Quick Setup:

Navigate to your project directory: cd /path/to/your/project
Run node /path/to/awesome-copilot/awesome-copilot.js init to create configuration and VS Code setup
Edit awesome-copilot.config.yml to enable desired items
Run node /path/to/awesome-copilot/awesome-copilot.js apply to copy files to your project
Start using enhanced GitHub Copilot!

💡 Pro Tip: Create an alias for easier access:

# Add to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias awesome-copilot="node /path/to/awesome-copilot/awesome-copilot.js"

# Then you can simply use:
awesome-copilot init
awesome-copilot apply

✨ Benefits:

Clean project setup with automatic VS Code configuration
Files organized in .github/ directory
Automatic .gitignore management
Easy updates by re-running apply command

Note: The package is not yet published to npm, so cloning the repository is currently required.

📖 Manual Installation

Browse the Collections: Check out our comprehensive lists of prompts, instructions, chat modes, and collections.
Add to your editor: Click the "Install" button to install to VS Code, or copy the file contents for other editors.
Start Using: Copy prompts to use with / commands, let instructions enhance your coding experience, or activate chat modes for specialized assistance.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🛡️ Security & Support

Security Issues: Please see our Security Policy
Support: Check our Support Guide for getting help
Code of Conduct: We follow the Contributor Covenant

🎯 Why Use Awesome GitHub Copilot?

Productivity: Pre-built prompts and instructions save time and provide consistent results
Best Practices: Benefit from community-curated coding standards and patterns
Specialized Assistance: Access expert-level guidance through specialized chat modes
Continuous Learning: Stay updated with the latest patterns and practices across technologies

Ready to supercharge your coding experience? Start exploring our prompts, instructions, and chat modes!

Contributors ✨

Thanks goes to these wonderful people (emoji key):

_{Aaron Powell} 💻 🚧 📆 📣	_{Muhammad Ubaid Raza} 💻	_{Harald Kirschner} 💻	_{Matteo Bianchi} 💻	_{Aung Myo Kyaw} 💻	_{Daniel Scott-Raynsford} 💻	_{Burke Holland} 💻
_{Peter Strömberg} 💻	_{Daniel Meppiel} 💻	_{James Montemagno} 💻	_{Vamshi Verma} 💻	_{Yohan Lasorsa} 💻	_{Oren Me} 💻	_{Mike Rousos} 💻
_{Guilherme do Amaral Alves} 💻	_{Troy Simeon Taylor} 💻	_Ambily 💻	_{Tugdual Grall} 💻	_{Tianqi Zhang} 💻	_{Shubham Gaikwad} 💻	_{Saul Dolgin} 💻
_NULLchimp 💻	_{Matt Vevang} 💻	_{Justin Yoo} 💻	_{Gisela Torres} 💻	_{Debbie O'Brien} 💻	_{Allen Greaves} 💻	_{Amelia Payne} 💻
_{Sebastien DEGODEZ} 💻	_{Sebastian Gräf} 💻	_{Salih İbrahimbaş} 💻	_{Robert Altman} 💻	_{Rob Simpson} 💻	_{Rick Smit} 💻	_{Peter Smulovics} 💻
_{Peli de Halleux} 💻	_{Paulo Morgado} 💻	_{Nick Taylor} 💻	_{Mike Parker} 💻	_{Mike Kistler} 💻	_{Michael Fairchild} 💻	_{Michael A. Volz (Flynn)} 💻
_4regab 💻	_{Theo van Kraay} 💻	_{Troy Witthoeft (glsauto)} 💻	_{Tài Lê} 💻	_{Udaya Veeramreddygari} 💻	_{Waren Gonzaga} 💻	_{Will 保哥} 💻
_{Yuki Omoto} 💻	_Meii 💻	_samqbush 💻	_sdanzo-hrb 💻	_voidfnc 💻	_{Wendy Breiding} 💻	_{Ankur Sharma} 💻
_{黃健旻 Vincent Huang} 💻	_이상현 💻	_{Abdi Daud} 💻	_{Adrien Clerbois} 💻	_{Alan Sprecacenere} 💻	_{André Silva} 💻	_{Antoine Rey} 💻
_{Artem Saveliev} 💻	_{Bruno Borges} 💻	_{Christophe Peugnet} 💻	_Chtive 💻	_{Craig Bekker} 💻	_Dan 💻	_{Eldrick Wega} 💻
_{Felix Arjuna} 💻	_{Furkan Enes} 💻	_{Genevieve Warren} 💻	_{George Dernikos} 💻	_{Giovanni de Almeida Martins} 💻	_{Ioana A} 💻	_{Jakub Jareš} 💻
_{Joe Watkins} 💻	_{John Papa} 💻	_{Joseph Gonzales} 💻	_{José Antonio Garrido} 💻	_{Kim Skov Rasmussen} 💻	_{Kenny White} 💻	_{Louella Creemers} 💻
_{Luke Murray} 💻	_{Mark Noble} 💻
Add your contributions

This project follows the all-contributors specification. Contributions of any kind welcome!

📚 Additional Resources

VS Code Copilot Customization Documentation - Official Microsoft documentation
GitHub Copilot Chat Documentation - Complete chat feature guide
Custom Chat Modes - Advanced chat configuration
VS Code Settings - General VS Code configuration guide

™️ Trademarks

This project may contain trademarks or logos for projects, products, or services. Authorized use of Microsoft trademarks or logos is subject to and must follow Microsoft's Trademark & Brand Guidelines. Use of Microsoft trademarks or logos in modified versions of this project must not cause confusion or imply Microsoft sponsorship. Any use of third-party trademarks or logos are subject to those third-party's policies.