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Customize chat responses

Use custom instructions and prompt files to customize responses and use slash commands to set quick context for common tasks.

9/29/2025

180-days

how-to

anandmeg

meghaanand

mijacobs

ai-tools

ce-skilling-ai-copilot

copilot chat context

context, copilot chat

>= vs-2022

sfi-image-nochange

Customize chat responses and set context

You can ask GitHub Copilot Chat to give you code suggestions, explain code, generate unit tests, and suggest code fixes. Chat in Visual Studio can give you responses and generate code that matches your coding practices and project requirements, if you give it the right context. Instead of repeatedly adding this information in every chat prompt, you can store this context in files and automatically include it in every chat request.

In this article, you learn how to get better answers by providing more information to Copilot Chat:

Use slash commands to quickly specify common tasks like /explain to get code explanations
Use the guided chat experience to refine context
Use custom instructions and prompt files to customize responses

Learn more about AI-assisted development in Visual Studio and how to use Copilot Chat in Visual Studio.

Prerequisites

To get started using GitHub Copilot Chat in Visual Studio, you need:

Visual Studio 2022 version 17.10 or later
Sign in to Visual Studio using a GitHub account with Copilot access
^** You can sign up for GitHub Copilot for Free.

Support for GitHub Copilot Chat will be provided by GitHub and can be reached at https://support.github.com.

Prompting guidance

The guided chat experience in Visual Studio 17.12 and later helps refine your prompts to clarify context for better answers. GitHub Copilot Chat now guides you with clarifying questions when context is unclear.

:::image type="content" source="media/vs-2022/copilot-chat-context/copilot-chat-guided-chat.png" alt-text="Screenshot of guided chat experience with GitHub Copilot Chat.":::

Enable custom instructions

The custom instructions feature enables you to automatically add pre-specified contextual details to your chat questions. Copilot Chat uses these instructions tailored to your specific context, such as, the way your team works, the tools you use, or the specifics of your project, when generating responses.

To configure custom instructions:

Create/add a custom instructions file .github/copilot-instructions.md in the root of your repository.
Enable the feature in Visual Studio via Tools > Options > GitHub > Copilot > Copilot Chat > Enable custom instructions to be loaded from .github/copilot-instructions.md files and added to requests.

Custom instructions are not visible in the Chat view or inline chat. However, when used by Copilot, the.github/copilot-instructions.md file is listed in the References list of a response.

Example

Here's an example C# custom instruction:

# Custom Instructions

## C# Instructions
Applies to: `**/*.cs`

- Write clear and concise comments for each function.
- Use PascalCase for component names, method names, and public members.
- Use camelCase for private fields and local variables.
- Add a newline before the opening curly brace of any code block  
  (such as after `if`, `for`, `while`, `foreach`, `using`, `try`, etc.).
- Ensure that the final `return` statement of a method is on its own line.

Copy these instructions into your .github/copilot-instructions.md file to use and automatically apply to Copilot behavior.

For more examples of custom instructions, see the list of instruction samples on GitHub.

Use prompt files

You can now create reusable prompt files in your repository to run or share your frequently used prompts.

To create a prompt file:

Write your prompts as you normally would in the prompt box, using # references to include specific information from your solution, such as methods, classes, and files. You can even reference other prompt files for shared instructions.
Copy the prompt into a markdown file, and save it with the .prompt.md extension in the .github/prompts folder at the root of your repository.

To use a prompt file:

Type #prompt: in chat input to reference any prompt files from your .github/prompts folder, or click the ➕ icon in the chat input to add it as context.
Add any extra details, or simply enter the prompt as is.

:::image type="content" source="media/vs-2022/copilot-chat-context/prompt-files.png" alt-text="Screenshot of using prompt files in GitHub Copilot Chat.":::

Use slash commands to set context for common tasks

Slash commands in Copilot Chat help you set the intent quickly for common development tasks. By using specific slash commands to form your question, you can get better answers without having to write out long questions.

You can use slash commands in a chat window, or directly inline in the code that you're looking to modify, using inline code assistance. Commands that help modify or add to the code file you have open in the editor will work both in the inline code assistant and the chat windows whereas commands for more general coding questions work only in the chat pane.

Command	Usage	Chat window	Inline chat
/doc	Add comments for specified or selected code. Examples: - `/doc DeleteBasketAsync method in BasketService.cs` - select desired code and enter `/doc`	Yes	Yes
/explain	Get code explanations. Examples: - `/explain the AddItemToBasket method in BasketService.cs` - select desired code and enter `/explain`	Yes	Yes
/fix	Propose a fix for problems in the selected code. Examples: - `/fix the SetQuantities method in BasketService.cs` - select desired code and enter `/fix`	Yes	Yes
/generate	Generate code to answer specified question. Example: `/generate code to add two numbers in Calculator.cs`	Yes	Yes
/help	Get help on using Copilot Chat. Example: `/help`	Yes	Yes
/optimize	Analyze and improve running time of the selected code. Examples: - `/optimize the AddItemToBasket method in BasketService.cs` - select desired code and enter `/optimize`	Yes	Yes
/tests	Create unit tests for the selected code. Example: select desired code and enter `/tests using XUnit Framework`	Yes	Yes

:::image type="content" source="media/vs-2022/copilot-chat-context/copilot-chat-context-slash-commands.png" alt-text="Screenshot of slash commands in inline chat view and chat windows.":::

With Visual Studio 2022 version 17.13, as the user types a slash command, the command expands out the prompt in natural language to display the context the command will use.

Next steps

GitHub Copilot experience for Visual Studio
GitHub Copilot Chat experience for Visual Studio
GitHub Copilot Trust Center
Send us suggestions, feedback, and issues
Support for GitHub Copilot Chat
How to use GitHub Copilot: Prompts, tips, and use cases

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