copilot-docs

name	copilot-docs
description	Reference and documentation for GitHub Copilot customization and advanced usage. You MUST load this skill when working with Copilot agents, instructions, skills, and configurations.
license	MIT

Skill: copilot-docs

Reference and documentation for GitHub Copilot CLI customization, automation, advanced usage, and setup.

Customization

Optimize Copilot CLI by providing project-specific guidelines, automation hooks, and specialized skills. See Customize Copilot.

Automate Copilot CLI

Automate operations and orchestrate GitHub Copilot CLI in pipelines or custom scripts. See Automate Copilot CLI.

Quickstart

• Usage: General introduction to automation paths.
• Reference: See quickstart.md

Run CLI Programmatically

• Usage: Call the CLI from scripts, capturing structured JSON output silently.
• Reference: See run-cli-programmatically.md

Automate with Actions

• Usage: Inject Copilot CLI capabilities natively into GitHub Actions workflows.
• Reference: See automate-with-actions.md

Custom Instructions

Inject project-wide standards and context into every prompt.

• Usage: Define guidelines in AGENTS.md or .prompts/ to enforce coding standards automatically.
• Reference: See add-custom-instructions.md for detailed configuration patterns.

Hooks

Automate shell commands at specific lifecycle events (session start, post-task, errors).

• Trigger: Run tests, refresh environment variables, or trigger CI updates based on agent actions.
• Reference: See use-hooks.md for trigger definitions and hooks-reference.md for configuration schemas and events.

Skills

Load instruction sets and scripts to extend agent capabilities for specialized domains.

• Impact: Enhances reasoning for complex workflows like cloud deployments or security reviews.
• Reference: See add-skills.md for skill structuring and discovery paths.

Custom Agents

Deploy specialized subagents with scoped context and toolsets.

• Architecture: Offloads specific tasks (e.g., code review, documentation) to agents with restricted permissions.
• Reference: See create-custom-agents-for-cli.md for custom agent subagent properties and configuration.

MCP Servers

Integrate external data and tools via Model Context Protocol.

• Capabilities: Query databases, access issue trackers (Jira/GitHub), and interact with calendars.
• Reference: See add-mcp-servers.md for configuration schemas and tool filtering.

Plugins

Bundle components (skills, agents, hooks) into distributable units.

• Distribution: Install via marketplace or direct repository link (owner/repo:path).
• Find & Install: See plugins-finding-installing.md for installation commands and marketplace management.
• Creation: See plugins-creating.md for generating and structuring Copilot CLI plugins.
• Marketplace: See plugins-marketplace.md for creating and managing custom plugin registries.

BYOK Models

Configure custom AI model providers via Bring Your Own Key (BYOK).

• Usage: Integrate external model providers (Anthropic, Google, generic OpenAI-compatible) using local API keys.
• Reference: See use-byok-models.md for environment variables and model selection flags.

Use Copilot CLI

Harness the core capabilities of the Copilot CLI for code review, task delegation, and execution management. See Use Copilot CLI.

• Overview: Core capabilities and usage. See overview.md.
• Agentic Code Review: Automate PR and code reviews. See agentic-code-review.md.
• Allowing Tools: Enforce tool execution boundaries. See allowing-tools.md.
• Chronicle: Track and resume historical sessions. See chronicle.md.
• Connecting VS Code: Sync terminal CLI with IDE context. See connecting-vs-code.md.
• Delegate Tasks to CCA: Route specific workloads to Custom Copilot Agents. See delegate-tasks-to-cca.md.
• Invoke Custom Agents: Run specialized agent personas directly. See invoke-custom-agents.md.
• Manage Pull Requests: Generate and summarize PRs. See manage-pull-requests.md.
• Roll Back Changes: Revert codebase mutations cleanly. See roll-back-changes.md.
• Speed Up Task Completion: Optimize workflows and reduce latency. See speed-up-task-completion.md.

Set Up Copilot CLI

Establish the foundation for the GitHub Copilot CLI and securely connect it to your environments. See Set Up Copilot CLI.

• Install Copilot CLI: Deploy the extension natively via GitHub CLI. See install-copilot-cli.md.
• Authenticate Copilot CLI: Establish device flow or token authentication. See authenticate-copilot-cli.md.
• Configure Copilot CLI: Manage internal setup, aliases, and telemetry. See configure-copilot-cli.md.
• Add LSP Servers: Connect language intelligence for robust command context. See add-lsp-servers.md.
• Troubleshoot Auth: Diagnose and repair underlying connectivity failures. See troubleshoot-copilot-cli-auth.md.

Best Practices

Adopt strict standards and guidelines to maximize Copilot CLI efficacy and security.

• CLI Best Practices: Optimize execution prompts, context handling, and strict permission models bounding. See cli-best-practices.md.

References

• GitHub Docs
• Customize Copilot
• Automate Copilot CLI
• Use Copilot CLI
• Set Up Copilot CLI
• AI Engines (Coding Agents)
• Hooks Reference
• copilot-cli docs repository
• Custom agents configuration reference
• GitHub Copilot CLI command reference