You want a team's review standards applied to Copilot code review consistently. What do you add?
Why A is the answer
Custom instructions files in the repository
Instructions files live with the repo and give consistent, customizable review standards for everyone.
In detail
- Instruction files in the repository are shared with everyone.
- Copilot code review can use them, so standards apply consistently.
- Keep instructions short and specific, so they are easy to follow.
Use case
An illustrative scenario, not a real incident.
A team wants every review to check error handling. Instructions in the repository apply this for everyone, rather than depending on each reviewer's settings.
See it in different ways
flowchart TD
A{"What do you need?"} -->|"Rules for the whole repo"| B[".github/copilot-instructions.md"]
A -->|"Rules for some paths"| C[".github/instructions/NAME.instructions.md"]
A -->|"Rules for agents"| D["AGENTS.md"]
A -->|"A task you start yourself"| E["Prompt file"]mindmap
root((Instructions))
Repository wide
copilot-instructions.md
One path
NAME.instructions.md
Agents
Nearest AGENTS.md
Chosen by hand
Prompt filesflowchart LR S0["Write instructions file"] --> S1["Commit it"] --> S2["Copilot code review reads it"] --> S3["Consistent reviews"]
Key point: Shared standards belong in the repository.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. A longer pull request title
- A title does not set review standards.
- C. A second Copilot subscription
- Another subscription adds nothing to review quality.
- D. A personal note in your IDE settings
- A personal note only reaches one person.