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Agent Configuration and Extensibility
GitHub Copilot for JetBrains supports multiple customization mechanisms that allow developers and enterprises to tailor AI behavior, workflows, and automation.
Currently, GitHub Copilot supports two different agent harnesses:
| Harness | Description |
|---|---|
| Local Agent Harness | The built-in JetBrains agent experience. Supports core customization capabilities directly inside the IDE. |
| Copilot CLI Agent Harness (Preview) | Uses Copilot CLI as the underlying agent provider. Enables additional agentic capabilities and aligns customization behavior with Copilot CLI and other Copilot surfaces. |
Some customization capabilities are shared between both harnesses, while others are currently available only in Copilot CLI mode.
Instructions allow you to define common guidelines, rules, workflows, and task-specific behaviors that influence how GitHub Copilot generates code and handles development tasks.
Instructions can be scoped broadly across all interactions or applied contextually to specific files, paths, or workflows.
$PROJECT_ROOT/.github/instructions/**/*.instructions.md$PROJECT_ROOT/.github/prompts/**/*.prompt.md
$HOME/.copilot/instructions/**/*.instructions.md
$PROJECT_ROOT/.github/copilot-instructions.md
You can also create path specific instructions.
$HOME/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md
Define custom chat agents for GitHub Copilot Chat. Custom agents allow you to tailor Copilot’s chat behavior for specific roles, workflows, or tasks.
$PROJECT_ROOT/.github/agents/**/*.agent.md$PROJECT_ROOT/.claude/agents/**/*.agent.md
$HOME/.copilot/agents/**/*.agent.md
$PROJECT_ROOT/.github/agents/**/*.agent.md
$HOME/.copilot/agents/**/*.agent.md
Agent skills are folders of instructions, scripts, and resources that Copilot can load when relevant to improve its performance in specialized tasks.
The Agent Skills specification is an open standard used by a range of different AI systems.
$PROJECT_ROOT/agents/skills/**/SKILL.md$PROJECT_ROOT/.github/skills/**/SKILL.md$PROJECT_ROOT/.claude/skills/**/SKILL.md
$HOME/.agents/skills/**/SKILL.md$HOME/.copilot/skills/**/SKILL.md$HOME/.claude/skills/**/SKILL.md
$PROJECT_ROOT/.github/skills/$PROJECT_ROOT/.claude/skills/$PROJECT_ROOT/.agents/skills/
$HOME/.copilot/skills/$HOME/.agents/skills/
Hooks define custom shell commands that Copilot agents can trigger at specific execution points.
They enable tighter integration between agents and local tooling or project-specific automation.
$PROJECT_ROOT/.github/hooks/*.hooks.json
The following types of hooks are available:
- userPromptSubmitted
- preToolUse
- postToolUse
- errorOccurred
$PROJECT_ROOT/.github/hooks/