How to Set Up Project Instructions in GitHub Copilot CLI【/init】

Overview#

Does Copilot keep generating code that doesn’t quite match your project’s coding standards?

“We use camelCase here, not snake_case.” “Tests should be in Vitest, not Jest.” Sound familiar? You can fix this with /init.

Run this in Copilot CLI:

/copilot> /init

This creates a Copilot instruction file for your repository. Write your project’s rules there, and Copilot will follow them in every session.

/init generates an instruction file (e.g., COPILOT.md or .github/copilot-instructions.md) in your repository.

You can specify things like:

Before	After
Correcting “use Vitest, not Jest” every time	Copilot uses Vitest by default
Fixing naming conventions manually	Code follows your standards from the start
Output varies between team members	Everyone gets consistent results