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.github/copilot-instructions.md

Copilot instructions for Tauri

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 Tauri project. This repository is a Tauri app. Privileged work is a Rust command. The webview calls `invoke`. Capabilities grant only the permissions the window needs.

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 Tauri 2 with a Rust core. It does not assume a particular frontend framework. Use the one in the webview.

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 Tauri repository. Copilot reads them from `.github/copilot-instructions.md`.
Prefer the commands and layout below over guesses.

## Stack

This repository is a Tauri app. Privileged work is a Rust command. The webview calls `invoke`. Capabilities grant only the permissions the window needs.

## Layout

- Rust commands live in `src-tauri/src`.
- Capabilities and permissions live in `src-tauri/capabilities` or the project's gen folder.
- The frontend stays a normal web app and reaches Rust only through `invoke`.

## Commands

- Dev: `npm run tauri dev`
- Rust tests: `cargo test`
- Frontend tests: `npm test`

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

## Conventions

- Add a `#[tauri::command]` only for work the webview cannot do safely.
- Return `Result`. Do not unwrap on arguments the UI sent.
- Update the capability allow-list when you add a command or a plugin.
- Keep the allowlist narrow. Do not grant fs or shell glob permissions to get unstuck.
- Share types deliberately. Do not serialize the whole app state to the webview.
- Run `cargo fmt` on Rust changes.

## Testing

Add or update tests when behavior changes.

Unit-test the command's pure logic in Rust. Do not need the webview for a validation rule.

## 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 structured error string or the project's error enum from the command. The UI should be able to show it.

## 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 call Rust by shelling out from the frontend.
- Do not disable the capability system.
- Do not hold a webview handle and block the UI thread.
- Do not clone secrets into a command's debug log.

## Done when

- The requested behavior works.
- `cargo test` passes and `tauri dev` still opens the window.
- 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.
- Capabilities grant the smallest permission set.
- Validate paths and URLs inside the command. The webview is not trusted.
- Do not enable a plugin globally when one window needs it.

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 Tauri 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 Tauri agent often gets wrong, such as a command that checks its arguments and is listed in the capability file. 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 Tauri repo?

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

The example assumes Tauri 2 with a Rust core. It does not assume a particular frontend framework. Use the one in the webview.

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 Tauri

Copilot instructions for other stacks