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 | TranslatedConversion type: TranslatedActively 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 | TranslatedConversion type: TranslatedActively 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 | TranslatedConversion type: TranslatedActively 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 | TranslatedConversion type: TranslatedActively 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. |
| --no-custom-instructions CLI Flag | Not portableConversion type: Not portableUnique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers.Learn more → | The --no-custom-instructions flag disables loading of custom instructions from AGENTS.md and related files for a session, enabling a clean-slate run. |