The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20250121185520/https://github.blog/changelog/2025-01-21-custom-repository-instructions-are-now-available-for-copilot-on-github-com-public-preview/

Custom repository instructions are now available for Copilot on GitHub.com (Public Preview)

Copilot chat on GitHub.com now incorporates repository custom instructions to provide a more tailored chat experience. You can now use custom instructions to provide Copilot with context on your development stack, your coding standards, and your conversational preferences. This release brings parity between the Copilot chat experiences in VS Code and GitHub.com.

To get started:
1. Create a .github/copilot-instructions.md file in your repository (if needed, create a .github directory first).
2. Add your custom instructions.

With this set up, chat conversations automatically include the instructions that are present in the repository you are chatting about.

Need inspiration for custom instructions? Try these:

  • When writing Javascript, omit semicolons.
  • We use Poetry for managing our Python dependencies, not pip. Provide instructions using Poetry.
  • Use arrow functions instead of traditional function expressions.

Check out the docs to learn more, and read about best practices for using custom instructions.

This feature is automatically available for individual users, and accessible to members of organizations that have opted in to feature previews. If you’re not already opted in, learn how to enable preview features.

Join the discussion within GitHub Community.

Code scanning caches dependencies for Java, Go & C#

GitHub Code Scanning powered by CodeQL now supports dependency caching for Java, Go, and C# projects. This feature ensures that scans can deliver meaningful results even if registries are temporarily unavailable, while also reducing overall scanning time after the cache is established.

Dependency Caching Availability:

  • Default Setup: For repositories using GitHub-hosted runners, dependency caching is automatically enabled for both public and private repositories during scans.
  • Advanced Setup: Users with custom configurations can manually enable dependency caching as needed.

This is now available on github.com.

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Dependabot will no longer support NPM v6

As of January 20th, 2025, Dependabot no longer supports NPM version 6, which has reached its end-of-life. If you continue to use NPM version 6, Dependabot will be unable to create pull requests to update dependencies. If this affects you, we recommend updating to a supported release of NPM. As of December 2024, NPM 9 is the newest supported release.

View NPM’s official documentation for more information about supported releases.

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