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Generate AI Agent Instructions

Writes tailored instruction files that guide Copilot and other AI coding agents in your repo

Source Download skill
Repository
github/awesome-copilot
Stars
40,703
Licence
MIT
Files
1 file

What it does

When installed, the agent knows how to create or refresh custom instruction files that tell AI coding assistants how your project works. It runs the AgentRC tool to generate the files, usually starting with a dry-run preview, and can split guidance into a main file plus scoped files for specific folders or topics, such as frontend or tests. It is designed as the follow-up step after an accessibility-style readiness assessment of the AI Tooling setup.

Great for

  • Developers who want Copilot in VS Code to follow their repo's conventions
  • Maintainers of monorepos who want different rules for different folders
  • Teams using several AI agents (Copilot, Claude, Cursor) who want a shared AGENTS.md

Skip it if

  • Repos where you do not want generated rules committed without careful review, since the output directly steers future AI code changes
  • Users who have not installed or cannot run the AgentRC tool via npx, because the skill depends on it
  • Sensitive or regulated projects where sending code context to a model service needs approval, since the default model is a hosted model

Try asking

  • “Generate a copilot-instructions.md for this repo with a dry-run first”
  • “Split our monorepo into per-area instruction files using agentrc.config.json”
  • “Create an AGENTS.md so Copilot and Claude both read the same guidance”
  • “Refresh our instructions after the latest assessment flagged gaps”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Generate AI Agent InstructionsInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 1 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    acreadiness-generate-instructions.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip acreadiness-generate-instructions.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip acreadiness-generate-instructions.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Always review the dry-run summary and the generated files in a pull request before committing them
  • Choose nested strategy for large or multi-stack repos and flat for small single-stack repos
  • Check that applyTo globs match the intended folders so rules load only where relevant

What's inside

  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from github/awesome-copilot under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.