awesome-copilot/CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing to GitHub Copilot Instructions

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the GitHub Copilot Instructions repository! We welcome contributions from the community to help expand our collection of custom instructions and prompts.

How to Contribute

Adding Instructions

Instructions help customize GitHub Copilot's behavior for specific technologies, coding practices, or domains.

1. Create your instruction file: Add a new .md file in the instructions/ directory
2. Follow the naming convention: Use descriptive, lowercase filenames with hyphens (e.g., python-django.md)
3. Structure your content: Start with a clear heading and organize your instructions logically
4. Test your instructions: Make sure your instructions work well with GitHub Copilot

Example instruction format:

# Your Technology/Framework Name

## Instructions

- Provide clear, specific guidance for GitHub Copilot
- Include best practices and conventions
- Use bullet points for easy reading

## Additional Guidelines

- Any additional context or examples

Adding Prompts

Prompts are ready-to-use templates for specific development scenarios and tasks.

1. Create your prompt file: Add a new .prompt.md file in the prompts/ directory
2. Follow the naming convention: Use descriptive, lowercase filenames with hyphens and the .prompt.md extension (e.g., react-component-generator.prompt.md)
3. Include frontmatter: Add metadata at the top of your file (optional but recommended)
4. Structure your prompt: Provide clear context and specific instructions

Example prompt format:

---
mode: "agent"
tools: ["codebase", "terminalCommand"]
description: "Brief description of what this prompt does"
---

# Prompt Title

Your goal is to...

## Specific Instructions

- Clear, actionable instructions
- Include examples where helpful

Submitting Your Contribution

1. Fork this repository
2. Create a new branch for your contribution
3. Add your instruction or prompt file following the guidelines above
4. Run the update script (optional): node update-readme.js to update the README with your new file
5. Submit a pull request with:
   • A clear title describing your contribution
   • A brief description of what your instruction/prompt does
   • Any relevant context or usage notes

Quality Guidelines

• Be specific: Generic instructions are less helpful than specific, actionable guidance
• Test your content: Ensure your instructions or prompts work well with GitHub Copilot
• Follow conventions: Use consistent formatting and naming
• Keep it focused: Each file should address a specific technology, framework, or use case
• Write clearly: Use simple, direct language

Code of Conduct

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact opencode@microsoft.com with any additional questions or comments.

License

By contributing to this repository, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the MIT License.