Copilot CLI — Rules
- File format
- Markdown
- Discovery paths
-
.github/copilot-instructions.md,AGENTS.md - Global install path
-
~/.copilot - Syllago install method
- Symlink, Direct copy
- Symlink support
- Yes
- Native frontmatter fields
-
applyTo
Features
How each feature converts to syllago's canonical format. See format conversion for what these statuses mean.
Other features
Behaviors, conventions, and capabilities that aren't tied to a single named field — things like path-based activation, discovery rules, and lifecycle behavior.
| Feature | Conversion | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| AGENTS.md Instructions | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Copilot reads AGENTS.md (and CLAUDE.md, GEMINI.md) at the repo root as instructions, following the agentsmd/agents.md community standard. |
cross_provider_recognition | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | agents_md_instructions: Copilot CLI reads AGENTS.md files following the multi-provider shared format |
hierarchical_loading | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Copilot CLI supports repo-wide instructions plus path-specific and personal instruction layers with defined precedence |
| Repository-Wide Custom Instructions | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | An always-on .github/copilot-instructions.md at the repo root applies to every request made in that repository's context. |
| Path-Specific Custom Instructions | Conversion type: No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more → | NAME.instructions.md files under .github/instructions/ apply only to requests involving files matching a declared path glob. |
| Personal (Home Directory) Custom Instructions | Conversion type: No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more → | $HOME/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md provides user-scoped instructions; COPILOT_CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS adds search directories. |