GitHub Copilot Starter skill: set up Copilot files for a new repo

A skill that makes Claude create a complete GitHub Copilot setup for a new project, based on its technology stack.

Installs: 9K; on skills.sh
Stars: 40.7K; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

github-copilot-starter makes Claude ask five questions about your stack, then write the Copilot files a repo needs: .github/copilot-instructions.md, instruction files, starter skills, four agents and, if you use GitHub Actions, a copilot-setup-steps.yml workflow. It is written for GitHub Copilot, so the files it creates only matter if you use Copilot.

It first fetches awesome-copilot's instruction, agent and skill lists from github.com and adapts what matches your stack, with attribution comments. It bundles no scripts and writes many files, so run it on a clean branch.

Good for

GitHub Copilot users starting a new repo
Developers who want Copilot instructions, skills and agents written for their stack
Projects that use the Copilot Coding Agent and need a setup-steps workflow

Install github-copilot-starter

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the github-copilot-starter skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill github-copilot-starter

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

The skills CLI and folder routes copy this one skill folder.

From the vendor's docs. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Set up complete GitHub Copilot configuration for a new project based on technology stack

Sections in SKILL.md

Project Information Required
Configuration Files to Create
1. .github/copilot-instructions.md
Project Overview
Tech Stack
Conventions
Workflow
2. .github/instructions/ Directory
3. .github/skills/ Directory
4. .github/agents/ Directory
5. .github/workflows/ Directory (only if user uses GitHub Actions)
Content Guidelines
File Structure Standards
YAML Frontmatter Template
General Guidelines
Requirements

Key facts

Author: Not stated in SKILL.md; published in GitHub's awesome-copilot repo
License: MIT (repo LICENSE, Copyright GitHub, Inc.)
Installs on skills.sh: 8,952 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 40,666 for the whole awesome-copilot repo, 2026-11-02
Last change to this skill: 2026-10-30
What is inside: 1 file: SKILL.md
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket pass, Snyk pass

What it includes

Asks for 5 things: language, project type, extra tech, style and GitHub Actions use.
The five questions are primary language or framework, project type, additional technologies, development style, and whether the project uses GitHub Actions or the Coding Agent.
Intake questions
Fetches awesome-copilot instructions, agents and skills lists before writing anything.
SKILL.md calls this the mandatory first step. It lists the awesome-copilot docs and the instructions, agents and skills folders on github.com to fetch.
Network · Research awesome-copilot
Writes the main repo instructions file that applies to all Copilot use.
Write · .github/copilot-instructions.md
Writes 6 instruction files: one for the main language plus 5 topic files.
The topic files are testing, documentation, security, performance and code-review.
Write · .github/instructions/
Writes 6 starter skills such as write-tests, code-review and debug-issue.
The six are setup-component, write-tests, code-review, refactor-code, generate-docs and debug-issue.
Write · .github/skills/
Writes 4 agents: software-engineer, architect, reviewer and debugger.
Write · .github/agents/
Writes a GitHub Actions setup workflow, only if the project uses GitHub Actions.
The job must be named copilot-setup-steps. The workflow has read-only contents permission and basic language setup, lint and test steps.
Write · copilot-setup-steps.yml
Adds a comment naming the awesome-copilot file each piece was based on.
Write · Attribution comments
Checks 9 items, such as frontmatter, security notes, tests and code review standards.
Quality checklist
Ends with VS Code setup steps, usage examples, customization tips and test advice.
Post-setup guidance

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

It writes many files under .github/ and can add a GitHub Actions workflow. Run it on a new branch and read every generated file before you merge.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It writes many files and a CI workflow
SKILL.md creates instructions, skills, agents and, if you use GitHub Actions, .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml. Run it on a new branch and review every file before you merge. github.com
It adapts community content into your repo
SKILL.md tells the agent to reuse awesome-copilot agents and instructions. The awesome-copilot README says that content comes from third-party developers, so read what lands in your repo. github.com
The workflow template runs standard setup steps
The template checks out code, sets up Node.js, Python or Java, installs dependencies, and can run the linter and tests. It sets contents: read permission. github.com

Technical details

Talks to	github.com
Scopes	Writes files under .github/ in your repo Fetches awesome-copilot pages and folders from github.com

Questions

What does github-copilot-starter do?

It sets up a complete GitHub Copilot configuration for a new project. SKILL.md has Claude ask about your stack, then create instruction files, skills, agents and an optional workflow under .github/.

Is it useful if I only use Claude Code?

It is useful only if your repo is also used with Copilot. SKILL.md describes the output as a GitHub Copilot configuration, so the files under .github/ are written for Copilot, not for Claude Code.

How do I install it in Claude Code or Codex?

Use the install box above. It copies this one skill folder, or you can use the gh skills install command from the awesome-copilot skills index.

Which files does it create?

One copilot-instructions.md, six instruction files, six skills and four agents, plus a copilot-setup-steps.yml workflow only if you say the project uses GitHub Actions. Counts come from the lists in SKILL.md.

Does it copy content from other repos?

Yes, from awesome-copilot. SKILL.md tells the agent to fetch and adapt existing instructions, agents and skills there, and to add a comment naming each source file.

Does it need an API key?

SKILL.md names no API key and the folder holds only SKILL.md. It does tell the agent to fetch pages from github.com.

Is it safe?

It writes many files under .github/ and may add a GitHub Actions workflow, and the content it adapts comes from a community collection. Our advice: run it on a new branch, read the diff, and read the adapted instructions and agents before you merge.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: github/awesome-copilot
Folder: skills/github-copilot-starter

github/awesome-copilot skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 5

awesome-copilot skills index · github.com
github-copilot-starter SKILL.md · github.com
awesome-copilot LICENSE · github.com
skills.sh listing · skills.sh
awesome-copilot README · github.com