.github/copilot-instructions.md
Copilot instructions for Next.js
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 Next.js project. This repository is a Next.js app on the App Router with TypeScript. Server Components are the default. Add a client component only for state, effects, or browser APIs.
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 the App Router, TypeScript, and React Server Components. It does not assume the Pages Router, a database, or an auth library. If the repo already picked one, follow that instead of adding a second.
Example file
Balanced strictness, readable style, pragmatic tests. Download name: copilot-instructions.md
# GitHub Copilot instructions
These instructions apply to the whole Next.js repository. Copilot reads them from `.github/copilot-instructions.md`.
Prefer the commands and layout below over guesses.
## Stack
This repository is a Next.js app on the App Router with TypeScript. Server Components are the default. Add a client component only for state, effects, or browser APIs.
## Layout
- Routes, layouts, and server code live in `app/`.
- Shared UI lives in `components/`. Shared logic lives in `lib/`.
- Keep route files thin. Move non-trivial logic into functions that can be tested without rendering a page.
## Commands
- Dev server: `npm run dev`
- Production build: `npm run build`
- Lint: `npm run lint`
- Tests: `npm test`
Use the script the repo already defines when it differs from the command above.
## Conventions
- Fetch data on the server. Do not fetch in `useEffect` for data the server can already load.
- Use `next/link`, `next/image`, and `next/font`. Do not add another image or font pipeline.
- Mutations go through the Server Actions or route handlers the repo already uses.
- Validate input at the boundary with the validator the repo already uses.
- Keep client components small and at the leaves of the tree.
- Match the existing styling system. Do not introduce a second CSS framework.
## Testing
Add or update tests when behavior changes.
Use the runner already in the repo (Vitest, Jest, or Playwright). Cover the behavior you changed, not every component.
## 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.
- Return a clear error from server actions and route handlers. Do not send stack traces to the client.
## 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 server-only modules into a client component.
- Do not put secrets in `NEXT_PUBLIC_` variables or client bundles.
- Do not mark a whole tree as a client component to silence one hook error.
- Do not add `pages/` routes to an App Router project.
## Done when
- The requested behavior works.
- `npm run lint` and `npm test` pass, or you name the command you could not run.
- 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.
- Do not put secrets in NEXT_PUBLIC_ variables or client bundles.
- Check auth inside Server Actions and route handlers, not only in the UI.
- Validate search params, headers, and form data before they touch a database.
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 Next.js 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 Next.js agent often gets wrong, such as a page that loads data on the server instead of in useEffect. 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 Next.js repo?
Save it as `.github/copilot-instructions.md` in the Next.js 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 Next.js example assume?
The example assumes the App Router, TypeScript, and React Server Components. It does not assume the Pages Router, a database, or an auth library. If the repo already picked one, follow that instead of adding a second.
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 Next.js
Copilot instructions for other stacks
- Copilot instructions for React
- Copilot instructions for Vue
- Copilot instructions for SvelteKit
- Copilot instructions for Node.js
- Copilot instructions for FastAPI
- Copilot instructions for Django
- 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
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