paulnsorensen github-copilot-personal-instructions
Per-user Copilot Chat preferences set on github.com. Applies to every repository that account uses Copilot Chat against, but only on github.com.
Where they live
- Open github.com/copilot.
- Click your profile picture in the bottom-left.
- Choose Personal instructions.
- Click the lightbulb icon for templates, or paste your own markdown.
- Click Save.
Active immediately. They persist until edited or removed.
Where they apply
| Surface | Applies? |
|---|---|
| Copilot Chat on github.com | Yes |
| Copilot Chat on Mobile | No |
| Copilot Chat in IDE (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Xcode, Eclipse) | No |
| Copilot code review | No |
| Copilot coding agent (cloud agent) | No |
Implication: for IDE chat or the coding agent to follow the same
guidance, mirror the relevant rules into repository instructions
(/github-copilot-repo-instructions).
Precedence
All three layers — when present — are merged and sent to Copilot together. Stated priority order (highest → lowest):
- Personal (this skill).
- Repository (
/github-copilot-repo-instructions). - Organization.
Conflicts are not auto-resolved. If a repo's guidance contradicts personal preferences, Copilot sees both. To debug, temporarily clear one layer.
What pulls its weight
Personal instructions are best for things that are about you, not about the project:
- Response language:
Always respond in Spanish. - Tone and verbosity:
Use a collegial tone. Keep explanations brief but include enough context to understand the code. - Default code style for examples:
Always provide examples in TypeScript. - Prior knowledge:
Assume I'm comfortable with Rust ownership; skip the basics. - Format preferences:
Prefer fenced code blocks over inline snippets.
Don't put project conventions here — those go in repository instructions so your whole team benefits.
Verification
There's no surfaced UI signal beyond "saved". To verify they're applied:
- Save a distinctive instruction (e.g.
Always end responses with the word "verified".). - Ask Copilot Chat on github.com any question.
- Confirm the marker appears in the reply.
- Remove or restore the real instruction.
If the marker doesn't appear, the most likely cause is surface mismatch — you're testing in the IDE, mobile, or against the coding agent.
Audit checklist
When the user says "audit my personal Copilot config":
- Walk them to github.com/copilot → profile pic → Personal instructions.
- Read out the current text and check:
- Is anything project-specific? Hoist to repo instructions.
- Does anything contradict known repo or org instructions?
- Is anything secret or sensitive? Treat the textbox as moderately sensitive — no tokens, API keys, or internal URLs.
- If the user reports "Copilot ignores my preferences", check which surface they're using — IDE/mobile/coding-agent will not honor personal instructions.
This skill cannot read or edit personal instructions programmatically — they live in GitHub user settings, not in a repo. The skill walks the user through the UI.
Rules
- github.com Chat only. Don't promise IDE behavior.
- Don't store secrets. No tokens, no API keys, no internal URLs.
- Keep them about you, not the project. Project guidance belongs in
/github-copilot-repo-instructions. - No documented length limit, but the same "be concise" rule applies — long prompts crowd out the actual question.
Gotchas
- IDE chat reads repository instructions but not personal — a common surprise when developers edit personal instructions and see no IDE change.
- Personal instructions can mask repo guidance. If a teammate says "Copilot follows our rules" and you say "no it doesn't", check whether your personal instructions contradict the repo file.
- Mobile and IDE Copilot Chat are separate apps from github.com Chat — same brand, different config surface.
- Copilot coding agent runs from issues and does not consult personal instructions; expect repo instructions to be the only knob there.
- Saving an empty Personal instructions box clears them. Keep a copy somewhere else if your prompt is non-trivial.
What this skill is not
- Not repository-scoped — see
/github-copilot-repo-instructions. - Not org-scoped — those are configured by org admins in GitHub Enterprise settings.
- Not IDE settings — VS Code's
github.copilot.chat.*settings are separate and outside this skill.