github-copilot-agent-skills

Create a lowercase kebab-case directory containing a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter defining name and description. Place it in .github/skills for project scope or ~/.copilot/skills for personal scope, then write the workflow instructions in the Markdown body.

Only name and description are required. The name must be lowercase kebab-case matching the directory, and the description should front-load the job and non-goals. Optional fields like argument-hint and user-invocable depend on host support.

VS Code discovers skills in project locations such as .github/skills and .agents/skills, and user locations like ~/.copilot/skills. Host settings can add locations, so verify the installed version before relying on a path.

Avoid skills for always-on repository rules, single prompt commands, custom agent personas, or tasks fully expressible in one short prompt. Skills suit repeated multi-step jobs that benefit from automatic discovery and reusable references.

Test explicit slash invocation, implicit discovery, baseline improvement, and negative non-trigger cases separately. Also inspect VS Code slash discovery and confirm linked resources resolve one hop from SKILL.md.