Skip to content
vibespell

.github/copilot-instructions.md

Copilot instructions for Electron

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 Electron project. This repository is an Electron app. The main process owns Node and the system. The renderer is a web page. They talk through a preload bridge, not through nodeIntegration.

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 Electron with a preload script. It does not assume a particular renderer framework. Keep the one the window already loads.

Customize in the generatorBrowse the library

Example file

Balanced strictness, readable style, pragmatic tests. Download name: copilot-instructions.md

# GitHub Copilot instructions

These instructions apply to the whole Electron repository. Copilot reads them from `.github/copilot-instructions.md`.
Prefer the commands and layout below over guesses.

## Stack

This repository is an Electron app. The main process owns Node and the system. The renderer is a web page. They talk through a preload bridge, not through nodeIntegration.

## Layout

- Main-process code stays out of the renderer bundle.
- The preload script is the only place that touches ipcRenderer.
- Renderer UI lives in the frontend folder the project already has.

## Commands

- Dev: `npm run dev`
- Tests: `npm test`
- Package: `npm run package`

Use the script the repo already defines when it differs from the command above.

## Conventions

- Keep `nodeIntegration` off and `contextIsolation` on.
- Expose a small typed API through `contextBridge`. Do not expose ipcRenderer.
- Validate IPC payloads in the main process.
- Use the project's secure defaults for new BrowserWindows.
- Do not enable remote module patterns.
- Native dependencies stay in the main process.

## Testing

Add or update tests when behavior changes.

Unit-test the payload validator without launching Electron. Add a smoke launch only if you changed window setup.

## 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.
- Reject a bad IPC payload with an error the renderer can show. Do not crash the main process for bad input.

## 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 require('fs') from the renderer.
- Do not load remote content in the main window without a strict CSP.
- Do not trust a path sent from the renderer. Resolve it against an allowed root.
- Do not disable webSecurity to make a request work.

## Done when

- The requested behavior works.
- The app boots in dev and the IPC you added rejects a malformed payload.
- 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.
- contextIsolation stays on. nodeIntegration stays off.
- Validate and constrain every IPC argument.
- Do not follow redirects to untrusted origins from the main window.

Add it to the project

  1. 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.

  2. 02

    Save it at .github/copilot-instructions.md

    Save it as `.github/copilot-instructions.md` in the Electron repo. Create the `.github` folder if it is missing. Commit the file so Copilot sees it for every collaborator.

  3. 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.

  4. 04

    Give it one small task

    Ask for one change a Electron agent often gets wrong, such as an IPC channel that validates its payload in the main process. 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 Electron repo?

Save it as `.github/copilot-instructions.md` in the Electron 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 Electron example assume?

The example assumes Electron with a preload script. It does not assume a particular renderer framework. Keep the one the window already loads.

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 Electron

Copilot instructions for other stacks