Turning AI Struggles into Standards — The Birth of Copilot Instructions

The Rise of AI Coding Assistants

In the last couple of years, AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and others have revolutionized how we write code. They help autocomplete functions, suggest boilerplate, even generate entire classes — it’s like having a tireless senior developer sitting beside you.

But if you’ve seriously tried to use AI in your real-world projects, you know the magic isn’t always flawless.

The Problem: AI is Only as Good as Its Instructions

While AI models are powerful, I quickly realized something frustrating:
They don’t magically know my standards, my project structure, or my coding philosophy.

Some common problems I faced:

✅ AI would suggest code that didn’t follow my project’s coding standards.
✅ It would generate output that technically “worked” — but wasn’t production-quality.
✅ I had to keep repeating myself:
“Use Laravel 12 syntax.”
“Don’t use deprecated PHP functions.”
“Follow PSR-12 formatting.”
“Use the latest React 19 best practices.”
✅ Sometimes, it would generate incomplete code because it didn’t know my expected output format.
✅ Switching between projects meant explaining the same standards again and again.

In short — I was spending more time instructing my AI editor than actually coding.

The Realization: I Need to Set Standards for My AI

One day, it finally clicked:
If I expect consistent, reliable output from AI, I need to treat it like onboarding a new developer.

What do we do when we hire a new dev?
✅ We give them style guides.
✅ We show them coding conventions.
✅ We explain project-specific quirks.
✅ We give them reference materials.

Why not do the same for AI?

The Solution: Creating Copilot Instructions

That’s where this repository was born:
👉 Copilot Instructions

GitHub Copilot recently introduced support for a .github/copilot-instructions.md file, allowing developers to set custom instructions for Copilot inside their repository.

I realized this is exactly what’s needed to:

✅ Define project standards.
✅ Guide AI on how to generate better, context-aware code.
✅ Reduce repetitive explanations.
✅ Improve code quality and maintainability.
✅ Get AI suggestions that align with my expectations — automatically.

What This Repo Provides

This repo is more than just a template. It’s a growing collection of ready-to-use, high-quality Copilot Instructions files for:

🚀 Laravel 12 + PHP 8.2/8.4
🚀 React 19 + Next.js 15 with App Router & TypeScript
🚀 General PHP Projects
🚀 Jest Unit Testing Standards
🚀 Customizable Examples for Your Own Stack

Each instruction set is designed to:

✔️ Set clear coding standards.
✔️ Define expected output formats.
✔️ Specify preferred tools, libraries, and language features.
✔️ Reduce boilerplate and irrelevant suggestions.
✔️ Help AI truly feel like part of your development team.

How to Use It

Getting started is simple:

1. Clone or copy the relevant copilot-instructions.md from this repo.
2. Copy that file into your .github/copilot-instructions.md
3. In VSCode, enable Copilot custom instructions: "github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.useInstructionFiles": true
4. Watch your AI suggestions instantly improve in quality and consistency.

Why This Matters

AI coding tools are incredible — but they’re not mind-readers.
Without proper instructions, they generate unpredictable, inconsistent code.

With Copilot Instructions, you can:

💡 Treat AI like a true team member.
💡 Reduce technical debt.
💡 Improve code reviews.
💡 Write production-ready code faster.
💡 Focus on solving real problems — not micromanaging your AI.

Join the Mission

This project isn’t just for me — it’s for every developer tired of explaining the same things to AI over and over.

https://github.com/mubbi/copilot-instructions

✅ Fork it.

✅ Submit your own instructions for different stacks.

✅ Help make AI development smoother for everyone.