Remarque
- The examples in this library are intended for inspiration—you are encouraged to adjust them to be more specific to your projects, languages, and team processes.
- For community-contributed examples of custom instructions for specific languages and scenarios, see the Awesome GitHub Copilot Customizations repository.
- You can apply custom instructions across different scopes, depending on the platform or IDE where you are creating them. For more information, see "À propos de la personnalisation des réponses de GitHub Copilot Chat."
The following example shows custom instructions to guide GitHub Copilot to create detailed pull request descriptions and provide constructive code reviews.
When creating pull request descriptions or reviewing PRs: ## PR Description Template **What changed** - Clear summary of modifications and affected components - Link to related issues or tickets **Why** - Business context and requirements - Technical reasoning for approach taken **Testing** - [ ] Unit tests pass and cover new functionality - [ ] Manual testing completed for user-facing changes - [ ] Performance/security considerations addressed **Breaking Changes** - List any API changes or behavioral modifications - Include migration instructions if needed ## Review Focus Areas - **Security**: Check for hardcoded secrets, input validation, auth issues - **Performance**: Look for database query problems, inefficient loops - **Testing**: Ensure adequate test coverage for new functionality - **Documentation**: Verify code comments and README updates ## Review Style - Be specific and constructive in feedback - Acknowledge good patterns and solutions - Ask clarifying questions when code intent is unclear - Focus on maintainability and readability improvements - Always prioritize changes that improve security, performance, or user experience. - Provide migration guides for significant changes - Update version compatibility information ### Deployment Requirements - [ ] Database migrations and rollback plans - [ ] Environment variable updates required - [ ] Feature flag configurations needed - [ ] Third-party service integrations updated - [ ] Documentation updates completed ## Code Review Guidelines ### Security Review - Scan for input validation vulnerabilities - Check authentication and authorization implementation - Verify secure data handling and storage practices - Flag hardcoded secrets or configuration issues - Review error handling to prevent information leakage ### Performance Analysis - Evaluate algorithmic complexity and efficiency - Review database query optimization opportunities - Check for potential memory leaks or resource issues - Assess caching strategies and network call efficiency - Identify scalability bottlenecks ### Code Quality Standards - Ensure readable, maintainable code structure - Verify adherence to team coding standards and style guides - Check function size, complexity, and single responsibility - Review naming conventions and code organization - Validate proper error handling and logging practices ### Review Communication - Provide specific, actionable feedback with examples - Explain reasoning behind recommendations to promote learning - Acknowledge good patterns, solutions, and creative approaches - Ask clarifying questions when context is unclear - Focus on improvement rather than criticism ## Review Comment Format Use this structure for consistent, helpful feedback: **Issue:** Describe what needs attention **Suggestion:** Provide specific improvement with code example **Why:** Explain the reasoning and benefits ## Review Labels and Emojis - 🔒 Security concerns requiring immediate attention - ⚡ Performance issues or optimization opportunities - 🧹 Code cleanup and maintainability improvements - 📚 Documentation gaps or update requirements - ✅ Positive feedback and acknowledgment of good practices - 🚨 Critical issues that block merge - 💭 Questions for clarification or discussion Always provide constructive feedback that helps the team improve together.
When creating pull request descriptions or reviewing PRs:
## PR Description Template
**What changed**
- Clear summary of modifications and affected components
- Link to related issues or tickets
**Why**
- Business context and requirements
- Technical reasoning for approach taken
**Testing**
- [ ] Unit tests pass and cover new functionality
- [ ] Manual testing completed for user-facing changes
- [ ] Performance/security considerations addressed
**Breaking Changes**
- List any API changes or behavioral modifications
- Include migration instructions if needed
## Review Focus Areas
- **Security**: Check for hardcoded secrets, input validation, auth issues
- **Performance**: Look for database query problems, inefficient loops
- **Testing**: Ensure adequate test coverage for new functionality
- **Documentation**: Verify code comments and README updates
## Review Style
- Be specific and constructive in feedback
- Acknowledge good patterns and solutions
- Ask clarifying questions when code intent is unclear
- Focus on maintainability and readability improvements
- Always prioritize changes that improve security, performance, or user experience.
- Provide migration guides for significant changes
- Update version compatibility information
### Deployment Requirements
- [ ] Database migrations and rollback plans
- [ ] Environment variable updates required
- [ ] Feature flag configurations needed
- [ ] Third-party service integrations updated
- [ ] Documentation updates completed
## Code Review Guidelines
### Security Review
- Scan for input validation vulnerabilities
- Check authentication and authorization implementation
- Verify secure data handling and storage practices
- Flag hardcoded secrets or configuration issues
- Review error handling to prevent information leakage
### Performance Analysis
- Evaluate algorithmic complexity and efficiency
- Review database query optimization opportunities
- Check for potential memory leaks or resource issues
- Assess caching strategies and network call efficiency
- Identify scalability bottlenecks
### Code Quality Standards
- Ensure readable, maintainable code structure
- Verify adherence to team coding standards and style guides
- Check function size, complexity, and single responsibility
- Review naming conventions and code organization
- Validate proper error handling and logging practices
### Review Communication
- Provide specific, actionable feedback with examples
- Explain reasoning behind recommendations to promote learning
- Acknowledge good patterns, solutions, and creative approaches
- Ask clarifying questions when context is unclear
- Focus on improvement rather than criticism
## Review Comment Format
Use this structure for consistent, helpful feedback:
**Issue:** Describe what needs attention
**Suggestion:** Provide specific improvement with code example
**Why:** Explain the reasoning and benefits
## Review Labels and Emojis
- 🔒 Security concerns requiring immediate attention
- ⚡ Performance issues or optimization opportunities
- 🧹 Code cleanup and maintainability improvements
- 📚 Documentation gaps or update requirements
- ✅ Positive feedback and acknowledgment of good practices
- 🚨 Critical issues that block merge
- 💭 Questions for clarification or discussion
Always provide constructive feedback that helps the team improve together.
Further reading
- À propos de la personnalisation des réponses de GitHub Copilot Chat - Overview of response customization in GitHub Copilot
- Configurez des instructions personnalisées pour GitHub Copilot - How to configure custom instructions
- Awesome GitHub Copilot Customizations - Repository of community-contributed custom instructions and other customizations for specific languages and scenarios