dogfooding

name	dogfooding
description	Dogfooding workflow for improving Copilot customizations with evidence from the current repository. Use when creating or updating copilot-instructions.md, AGENTS.md, instructions, prompts, or skills. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"DevGeoRamos"}

Dogfooding Customizations

Outcome

Produce a high-signal customization update grounded in real repository conventions, with minimal duplication and clear next actions.

When to Use

• Create or update workspace instructions.
• Create prompts, skills, or agents from a workflow already used in practice.
• Improve existing customization files that feel generic, stale, or duplicated.

Procedure

1. Capture the target and scope.

• Confirm what file should be produced or updated.
• Decide scope: workspace (recommended for team use) or personal.
• If the request is underspecified, ask only the minimum clarifying questions.

2. Discover existing conventions first.

• Search for current customization files and core docs before writing anything.
• Prefer linking to docs over repeating long content.
• Detect whether a file should be created or merged.

3. Explore codebase facts with evidence.

• Collect exact build, test, and lint commands.
• Identify architecture boundaries and ownership by folder/file.
• Capture project-specific gotchas that are not obvious from generic best practices.

4. Verify critical points from primary sources.

• Validate subagent findings by reading key files directly.
• Resolve inconsistencies before editing.

5. Generate or merge with minimal surface area.

• Preserve useful existing sections.
• Remove stale or duplicated guidance.
• Keep instructions concise, actionable, and always-on only when truly global.

6. Add quality gates.

• Ensure names/paths/frontmatter are valid for the customization type.
• Ensure guidance is specific to this repo, not boilerplate.
• Ensure references point to existing files.

7. Close the loop.

• Summarize what was created or changed.
• Suggest 3-5 realistic example prompts that exercise the customization.
• Suggest related next customizations that naturally extend the workflow.

Decision Points

• Existing file found: merge and refresh; do not replace blindly.
• No existing file: create the minimal template needed.
• Repo has rich docs: link to docs; do not embed large excerpts.
• Workflow unclear: ask for desired outcome, scope, and level of detail (checklist vs full workflow).

Completion Checks

• The produced file is in the correct location and naming format.
• The guidance includes concrete repo commands and boundaries.
• The result avoids duplication and follows link-first documentation.
• The output includes clear examples for immediate use.

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Source: DevGeoRamos/my-bingo-mixer — distributed by TomeVault.