I first introduced Copilot agent training in this blog post from May of this year, shortly after Microsoft Build, when things were first announced. Since the writing of that blog post I have assigned more than 800 different tasks to GitHub Copilot Coding agents and continue to work to find the best overall structure around them.
The information from the prior post is all still valid; however, the level of information that is desired and possible is much more than what was shared back then. The official documentation on Agent guidance has a LOT more information in it, and no longer are the guidelines to keep the information short and sweet!
Let the AI Train the AI
One of the largest changes from the guidance before is in the amount of detail, and more importantly the fact that you can have AI do the work for you. Now you will notice in your repository that if you assign Copilot to an issue and you have not configured any guidance, it will suggest "I can help," and it will create an issue automatically assigned to itself.
This process is a true game changer. It lets the AI do the initial work of figuring out what it THINKS it needs, and then you can use that PR to tweak the guidance that is provided. But fundamentally, it will follow a similar structure, allowing you to focus on the information that you want to have highlighted.
Key Learning Areas
When performing this documentation, it is important to focus on a few key areas in what you share.
- Project-specific rules & conventions - What do you want things named, etc
- Project hierarchy and layout - What is actually there and where
- Expected behaviors & process flows - What do you expect of the AI
When creating these guidelines, it is essential to review them as if you were speaking to another human, which, by extension, makes it easier for you to write them!
Remember Firewall Configuration
When creating the documentation, you can link to Markdown files in your repository or to other sources of information, including external documentation. Just be sure to verify that the coding agent's firewall is not blocking access to any linked content references!
Video Introducing Concepts
Recently, I've started a YouTube Channel "The Tech Vault" with Mitchel Sellers, and I recently did a workthrough of the current state of getting started with GitHub Copilot Agents, showcasing the above. You can view it below!
Happy Coding
I hope this was helpful. I'd love to hear in the comments what your experiences have been with Copilot Agents and the usage of AI!