Create Simple Prompt

Create a New Prompt Sample

This skill guides creating new prompt samples for the pnp/copilot-prompts repository with the correct folder structure, README, assets folder, and sample.json metadata file.

Before Starting

Critical: Always ask the user for the following information before scaffolding:

1. Prompt title — a friendly, descriptive title (e.g., "Create Annual Sales Report template in PowerPoint")
2. Prompt text — the actual prompt the user wants to share
3. Description — a short description of what the prompt does and why it's useful
4. Target product — which Copilot product this prompt is for. Common values:
   • Microsoft 365 Copilot (for M365 prompts used in Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.)
   • Microsoft Copilot (for general Microsoft Copilot prompts)
   • GitHub Copilot (for GitHub Copilot prompts)
5. App host prefix — determines the folder name prefix. Common prefixes based on where the prompt is used:
   • m365 — Microsoft 365 Copilot (Teams, Outlook, general M365)
   • ppt — PowerPoint
   • word — Word
   • github — GitHub Copilot
   • whiteboard — Whiteboard
   • wellness — Wellness / lifestyle
   • Other descriptive prefix matching the app or domain
6. Author name — the contributor's full name
7. Author GitHub username — the contributor's GitHub handle
8. Prerequisites — what the user needs to run the prompt (defaults to the product selected above)

If the user doesn't provide all details upfront, ask for the missing ones before proceeding.

Sample Directory Structure

Create the sample in samples/prompts/{folder-name}/:

samples/prompts/{folder-name}/
├── assets/
│   └── sample.json          # Metadata for the M365 Solution Gallery
├── README.md                # Documentation

Folder naming rules:

• Format: {prefix}-{short-description}-prompt (e.g., m365-email-sorting, ppt-sales-report-prompt, github-copilot-fix-code)
• Use lowercase and hyphens only
• Do NOT use periods/dots in the folder name
• Keep it concise but descriptive
• The prefix should reflect the target app or platform

Step 1: Create README.md

Create samples/prompts/{folder-name}/README.md using this structure:

# {Prompt Title}

![Screenshot of the prompt in use](./assets/demo.png)

## Summary

{Short summary of what this prompt does and why it's useful.}

## Prompt 💡

{The actual prompt text goes here. If it contains code blocks, wrap them appropriately.}

## Description ℹ️

{A more detailed description of how the prompt works, what it produces, and any tips for getting the best results.}

## Contributors 👨‍💻

[{Author Name}](https://github.com/{github-username})

## Version history

Version|Date|Comments
-------|----|--------
1.0|{Month DD, YYYY}|Initial release

## Instructions 📝

1. {Step-by-step instructions on how to use the prompt}
2. {Where to open Copilot}
3. {How to enter the prompt}
4. {What to expect}

### Improvise Usage 🚀

{Suggestions for how the user can modify or extend the prompt for their own needs.}

## Prerequisites

* [{Product Name}]({product-url})

## Help

We do not support samples, but this community is always willing to help, and we want to improve these samples. We use GitHub to track issues, which makes it easy for community members to volunteer their time and help resolve issues.

You can try looking at [issues related to this sample](https://github.com/pnp/copilot-prompts/issues?q=label%3A%22sample%3A%20{folder-name}%22) to see if anybody else is having the same issues.

If you encounter any issues using this sample, [create a new issue](https://github.com/pnp/copilot-prompts/issues/new).

Finally, if you have an idea for improvement, [make a suggestion](https://github.com/pnp/copilot-prompts/issues/new).

## Disclaimer

**THIS CODE IS PROVIDED *AS IS* WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.**

![](https://m365-visitor-stats.azurewebsites.net/SamplesGallery/copilotprompts-{folder-name})

README rules:

• NEVER rephrase, rewrite, or modify the user's prompt text. Copy the prompt exactly as provided by the user — word for word, character for character. The user's original wording is the contribution; do not "improve", shorten, expand, or restructure it.
• The file MUST be named README.md (capital letters)
• Always include a screenshot reference at the top (use ./assets/demo.png as placeholder)
• The tracking image at the bottom MUST follow the pattern: https://m365-visitor-stats.azurewebsites.net/SamplesGallery/copilotprompts-{folder-name}
• Include the Help and Disclaimer sections exactly as shown
• Use the current date for the version history in {Month DD, YYYY} format
• Always fill in the issues?q=label URL with the actual folder name

Product-specific prerequisites and instructions:

For Microsoft 365 Copilot prompts:

• Prerequisite: [Copilot for Microsoft 365](https://developer.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/dev-program)
• Instructions should mention opening Copilot in the relevant M365 app (Teams, Outlook, Word, etc.)

For GitHub Copilot prompts:

• Prerequisite: [GitHub Copilot](https://copilot.github.com/)
• Instructions should mention installing the GitHub Copilot extension and launching GitHub Copilot Chat

For Microsoft Copilot prompts:

• Prerequisite: [Microsoft Copilot](https://copilot.microsoft.com/)
• Instructions should mention navigating to copilot.microsoft.com or the Copilot app

Step 2: Create Metadata (assets/sample.json)

Create samples/prompts/{folder-name}/assets/sample.json:

[
  {
    "name": "copilotprompts-{folder-name}",
    "source": "pnp",
    "title": "{Prompt Title}",
    "shortDescription": "{Short description of what the prompt does}",
    "url": "https://github.com/pnp/copilot-prompts/tree/main/samples/prompts/{folder-name}",
    "downloadUrl": "https://pnp.github.io/download-partial/?url=https://github.com/pnp/copilot-prompts/tree/main/samples/prompts/{folder-name}",
    "longDescription": [
      "{A longer description of what the prompt does and why it's useful. Can be the same as shortDescription if appropriate.}"
    ],
    "creationDateTime": "{YYYY-MM-DD}",
    "updateDateTime": "{YYYY-MM-DD}",
    "products": [
      "{Product Name}"
    ],
    "metadata": [],
    "thumbnails": [
      {
        "type": "image",
        "order": 100,
        "url": "https://github.com/pnp/copilot-prompts/raw/main/samples/prompts/{folder-name}/assets/demo.png",
        "alt": "{Description of the screenshot}"
      }
    ],
    "authors": [
      {
        "gitHubAccount": "{github-username}",
        "pictureUrl": "https://github.com/{github-username}.png",
        "name": "{Author Name}"
      }
    ],
    "references": [
      {
        "name": "{Product Name}",
        "description": "{Product Name}",
        "url": "{product-url}"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Key metadata rules:

• name: Always copilotprompts-{folder-name} (matches the tracking image ID)
• shortDescription and longDescription[0]: Should describe the same thing; longDescription can be more detailed
• creationDateTime and updateDateTime: Use YYYY-MM-DD format with the current date
• products: Must be one of: "Microsoft 365 Copilot", "Microsoft Copilot", "GitHub Copilot"
• source: Always "pnp"
• url: Points to the sample folder on GitHub main branch
• downloadUrl: Uses the pnp partial download service URL
• pictureUrl for authors: Use https://github.com/{username}.png as a shortcut
• thumbnails.url: Points to the screenshot in the assets folder on the main branch

Product-specific references:

For Microsoft 365 Copilot:

{
  "name": "Microsoft 365 Copilot",
  "description": "Microsoft 365 Copilot",
  "url": "https://copilot.microsoft.com/"
}

For GitHub Copilot:

{
  "name": "GitHub Copilot",
  "description": "GitHub Copilot",
  "url": "https://copilot.github.com/"
}

For Microsoft Copilot:

{
  "name": "Microsoft Copilot",
  "description": "Microsoft Copilot",
  "url": "https://copilot.microsoft.com/"
}

Step 3: Remind About Screenshots

After creating the files, remind the user to:

1. Add a screenshot of the prompt in action as assets/demo.png (or .gif)
2. Use a resolution of 1920x1080 if possible
3. The screenshot should show the prompt being used and the result
4. At minimum, provide one static .png file

Validation Checklist

Before finalizing, verify:

• Folder is inside samples/prompts/ (NOT inside samples/agent-instructions/ or samples/skills/)
• Folder name follows the {prefix}-{description}-prompt convention (lowercase, hyphens, no dots)
• README.md exists with correct capitalization
• assets/ folder exists
• assets/sample.json exists with valid JSON
• sample.json name field matches pattern copilotprompts-{folder-name}
• sample.json dates are in YYYY-MM-DD format
• sample.json URLs use the correct folder name
• README tracking image URL matches copilotprompts-{folder-name}
• README contains Help and Disclaimer sections
• README has at least one screenshot reference
• Author information is filled in
• Product/prerequisite matches the target Copilot product

Key Rules

• NEVER rephrase, rewrite, or modify the user's prompt text. Always copy it verbatim into the README. The user's exact wording is the contribution.
• This skill is for simple prompt samples ONLY — not for agent instructions or system prompts
• Samples go in samples/prompts/{folder-name}/, never in samples/agent-instructions/ or samples/skills/
• Every sample needs exactly: README.md + assets/sample.json
• Screenshots go in the assets/ folder
• The sample.json feeds the M365 Solution Gallery — accuracy matters
• Follow existing naming patterns in the repo for consistency

Source: pnp/copilot-prompts — distributed by TomeVault.