.github/copilot-instructions.md
Copilot instructions for Rust
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 Rust project. This repository is a Rust crate on Cargo. Format with rustfmt, lint with cargo clippy, and use Result for recoverable failure.
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 a Cargo crate, edition 2021 or newer. It does not assume a web framework or async runtime. Use thiserror or anyhow only when that crate is already a dependency.
Example file
Balanced strictness, readable style, pragmatic tests. Download name: copilot-instructions.md
# GitHub Copilot instructions
These instructions apply to the whole Rust repository. Copilot reads them from `.github/copilot-instructions.md`.
Prefer the commands and layout below over guesses.
## Stack
This repository is a Rust crate on Cargo. Format with rustfmt, lint with cargo clippy, and use Result for recoverable failure.
## Layout
- Library code lives in `src/lib.rs` and modules under `src/`. Binaries live in `src/main.rs` or `src/bin/`.
- Integration tests live in `tests/`. Unit tests live in the module they cover.
- Keep `Cargo.toml` dependencies minimal. Do not add a crate the standard library already covers.
## Commands
- Test: `cargo test`
- Format: `cargo fmt`
- Lint: `cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings`
- Build: `cargo build`
Use the script the repo already defines when it differs from the command above.
## Conventions
- Run cargo fmt. Then run cargo clippy on non-trivial changes.
- Return `Result` for recoverable errors. `Option` is for absence, not for failure.
- Do not `unwrap` or `expect` in library paths. A binary may expect only when the failure is a programming bug.
- Do not clone your way out of the borrow checker without a one-line reason.
- Own data when the function stores it. Borrow when it only needs to look.
- Public items get a rustdoc comment when the comments setting asks for documentation.
## Testing
Add or update tests when behavior changes.
Add unit tests beside the function you changed. Cover the Ok path and one Err path.
## 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 the project's error type. If it has none, return `Result<T, impl std::error::Error>` only at the edge, and keep library errors typed.
## 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 use `unsafe` to pass a lint. Unsafe needs a safety comment the project already expects.
- Do not `.clone()` in a loop to silence a lifetime.
- Do not ignore a `Result` with `let _ =`.
- Do not add `#[allow]` for a clippy lint you can fix in a few lines.
## Done when
- The requested behavior works.
- `cargo test` passes. Run `cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings` when the change is more than a comment.
- 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 unwrap on input that an attacker can choose.
- Keep secrets out of the repo and out of tracing spans.
- Do not add unsafe to skip a validation check.
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 Rust 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 Rust agent often gets wrong, such as a function that returns Result instead of unwrap on library input. 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 Rust repo?
Save it as `.github/copilot-instructions.md` in the Rust 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 Rust example assume?
The example assumes a Cargo crate, edition 2021 or newer. It does not assume a web framework or async runtime. Use thiserror or anyhow only when that crate is already a dependency.
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 Rust
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 Django
- Copilot instructions for Go
- 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