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Copilot AI commented Jan 11, 2026

Pull Request Checklist

  • I have read and followed the CONTRIBUTING.md guidelines.
  • My contribution adds a new instruction, prompt, or chat mode file in the correct directory.
  • The file follows the required naming convention.
  • The content is clearly structured and follows the example format.
  • I have tested my instructions, prompt, or chat mode with GitHub Copilot.
  • I have run npm start and verified that README.md is up to date.

Description

The usage instructions had ambiguous wording that conflated file naming pattern with directory path:

Before:

- Create task-specific `.github/.instructions.md` files in your workspace's `.github/instructions` folder

After:

- Create task-specific `*.instructions.md` files in your workspace's `.github/instructions/` folder (e.g., `.github/instructions/my-csharp-rules.instructions.md`)

Changes

  • Updated instructionsUsage template in eng/constants.mjs to clarify file path pattern with concrete example
  • Regenerated docs/README.instructions.md via eng/update-readme.mjs

Type of Contribution

  • New instruction file.
  • New prompt file.
  • New chat mode file.
  • New collection file.
  • New skill file.
  • Update to existing instruction, prompt, chat mode, collection or skill.
  • Other (please specify):

Additional Notes

Per @aaronpowell's clarification: instruction files follow the pattern <name>.instructions.md and live in .github/instructions/ directory.


By submitting this pull request, I confirm that my contribution abides by the Code of Conduct and will be licensed under the MIT License.

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Confusing line in README.instructions.md</issue_title>
<issue_description>This line is confusing to me:

Create task-specific .github/.instructions.md files in your workspace's .github/instructions folder

Do the files go in .github/ with names x.instructions.md or do they go in .github/instructions - and if so, with what name?</issue_description>

<agent_instructions>The update will need to be in the constants JS file as the README is generated with the update-readme script.</agent_instructions>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

@aaronpowell Good catch - they go in the `.github/instructions` folder named `.instructions.md`, so you'd have `.github/instructions/my-csharp-rules.instructions.md` as the full path.

I'll get the README updated.</comment_new>


✨ Let Copilot coding agent set things up for you — coding agent works faster and does higher quality work when set up for your repo.

Updated the instructionsUsage template in constants.mjs to clarify that task-specific instruction files should be created in the .github/instructions/ folder with the pattern *.instructions.md (e.g., .github/instructions/my-csharp-rules.instructions.md), instead of the confusing original wording that mentioned both .github/.instructions.md files and .github/instructions folder.

Co-authored-by: aaronpowell <434140+aaronpowell@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Fix confusing instructions in README file Clarify instruction file path in README usage documentation Jan 11, 2026
Copilot AI requested a review from aaronpowell January 11, 2026 22:15
@aaronpowell aaronpowell marked this pull request as ready for review January 12, 2026 00:19
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings January 12, 2026 00:19
@aaronpowell aaronpowell merged commit 31737e0 into main Jan 12, 2026
7 checks passed
@aaronpowell aaronpowell deleted the copilot/update-readme-instructions branch January 12, 2026 00:19
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Pull request overview

This PR clarifies the ambiguous wording in the README usage instructions for instruction files, resolving confusion about where instruction files should be placed and how they should be named.

Changes:

  • Updated the instructionsUsage template in eng/constants.mjs to clarify that instruction files follow the *.instructions.md pattern and should be placed in the .github/instructions/ directory
  • Added a concrete example path (.github/instructions/my-csharp-rules.instructions.md) to illustrate the correct usage
  • Regenerated docs/README.instructions.md to reflect the updated template

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

File Description
eng/constants.mjs Updated the instructionsUsage template string to replace ambiguous .github/.instructions.md with clearer *.instructions.md pattern and added example path
docs/README.instructions.md Regenerated documentation reflecting the clarified instruction file path pattern with example

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Confusing line in README.instructions.md

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