.github/copilot-instructions.md
Copilot instructions for Django
GitHub Copilot reads `.github/copilot-instructions.md` and applies it across the repository. It is the place for build commands, review rules, and stack conventions Copilot should not invent. This copy is written for a Django project. This repository is a Django project. Models, views, and templates follow the apps that already exist. Schema changes go through migrations, and you do not skip migrations.
The example uses a balanced, readable style, pragmatic tests, and comments only where the intent is not obvious. Open the generator to make the agent stricter, switch to test-first, quiet the comments, or pick a different file.
The example assumes Django with the ORM and migrations. It does not assume Django REST framework. If DRF is installed, use serializers. Otherwise stay with the views and forms the project already uses.
Example file
Balanced strictness, readable style, pragmatic tests. Download name: copilot-instructions.md
# GitHub Copilot instructions
These instructions apply to the whole Django repository. Copilot reads them from `.github/copilot-instructions.md`.
Prefer the commands and layout below over guesses.
## Stack
This repository is a Django project. Models, views, and templates follow the apps that already exist. Schema changes go through migrations, and you do not skip migrations.
## Layout
- Each app owns its models, views, urls, and templates.
- Project settings stay in the settings package. Do not hard-code secrets in an app module.
- Business rules that are not HTTP belong on the model or a service function, not in the template.
## Commands
- Dev server: `python manage.py runserver`
- Migrations: `python manage.py makemigrations && python manage.py migrate`
- Tests: `python manage.py test`
- Check: `python manage.py check`
Use the script the repo already defines when it differs from the command above.
## Conventions
- Use the ORM. Raw SQL needs a reason the ORM cannot express.
- A model change ships with its migration. Do not skip migrations or edit an applied migration to dodge a mistake.
- Query in the view or a model method, not in the template.
- Use `select_related` and `prefetch_related` when a template or serializer walks relations.
- CSRF protection stays on for browser forms. Do not disable it globally.
- Settings read from the environment the way the project already does.
## Testing
Add or update tests when behavior changes.
Use Django's test client or pytest-django, matching the repo. Cover the view status and one model constraint.
## Style
- Optimize for the next reader over the shortest diff.
- Comment only when the why is non-obvious.
- Name things the way neighboring files already do.
- Do not reformat code you did not change.
## Errors
- Fail at the boundary. Do not swallow errors.
- Use Django's validation and a 4xx response for bad input. Let unexpected exceptions hit the configured logging.
## Scope
- Do the requested task. Do not refactor unrelated code.
- Match the rigor already in the repo. Fix what you touch.
- Ask one clarifying question only when the task cannot be finished without it. Otherwise state the assumption and continue.
## Avoid
- Do not import models at module scope in `AppConfig.ready` carelessly, and do not create import cycles between apps.
- Do not call `objects.get` without handling `DoesNotExist` when the row might be missing.
- Do not store money or other exact values in a binary float.
- Do not run new queries in a loop when one prefetch will do.
## Done when
- The requested behavior works.
- `python manage.py check` is clean and the migration list matches the model change you made.
- The diff stays inside the task.
- You list anything you could not run.
## Review checklist
- The change matches the commands and layout in this file.
- No new dependency was added without a reason already present in the repo.
- Leave CSRF protection on for browser forms.
- Do not set DEBUG and a wildcard ALLOWED_HOSTS in production settings.
- Authorize in the view. A hidden template button is not a permission.
Add it to the project
01
Copy a starting file
Copy the example Copilot instructions on this page, or open the generator if you want different testing, strictness, or comment rules.
02
Save it at .github/copilot-instructions.md
Save it as `.github/copilot-instructions.md` in the Django repo. Create the `.github` folder if it is missing. Commit the file so Copilot sees it for every collaborator.
03
Start a fresh agent session
Rules files are read when a session starts. A chat that is already open may still be using the old instructions.
04
Give it one small task
Ask for one change a Django agent often gets wrong, such as a model change that includes the migration, not only the model field. If it ignores the file, confirm the path and start a new session.
Questions about this file
Where do I put Copilot instructions in a Django repo?
Save it as `.github/copilot-instructions.md` in the Django repo. Create the `.github` folder if it is missing. Commit the file so Copilot sees it for every collaborator.
Which tools read this Copilot instructions?
GitHub Copilot in VS Code, Visual Studio, and Copilot cloud agents read this file. Other agents will not load it automatically, so keep an AGENTS.md too if more than one tool edits the repo.
What does the Django example assume?
The example assumes Django with the ORM and migrations. It does not assume Django REST framework. If DRF is installed, use serializers. Otherwise stay with the views and forms the project already uses.
Does VibeSpell upload my repository?
No. Recipe pages are static, and the generator builds the file in your browser from the options you pick. Your source code never leaves the machine.
Other files for Django
Copilot instructions for other stacks
- Copilot instructions for Next.js
- Copilot instructions for React
- Copilot instructions for Vue
- Copilot instructions for SvelteKit
- Copilot instructions for Node.js
- Copilot instructions for FastAPI
- Copilot instructions for Go
- Copilot instructions for Rust
- Copilot instructions for Unity
- Copilot instructions for Godot
- Copilot instructions for Laravel
- Copilot instructions for Rails
- Copilot instructions for Flutter
- Copilot instructions for Swift
- Copilot instructions for Kotlin
- Copilot instructions for Unreal
- Copilot instructions for Next.js + Supabase
- Copilot instructions for T3
- Copilot instructions for Astro
- Copilot instructions for Remix
- Copilot instructions for Nuxt
- Copilot instructions for Electron
- Copilot instructions for Tauri
- Copilot instructions for Expo
- Copilot instructions for Spring Boot
- Copilot instructions for .NET
- Copilot instructions for Phaser
- Copilot instructions for Bevy
- Copilot instructions for Roblox
- Copilot instructions for Python ML
- Copilot instructions for LangChain