What is dbatools copilot-instructions.md?

Repository instructions for dbatools, a PowerShell toolkit for administering Microsoft SQL Server and related cloud databases. They explain the project structure, dependencies, supported systems, and contribution rules.

Use them when setting up the project, changing database administration commands, or preparing a pull request.

They help contributors understand what the project does and avoid changes that would break its required libraries, platforms, or release process.

How dataplat/dbatools configures GitHub Copilot

About the project

dbatools is a PowerShell toolkit for automating SQL Server administration and moving SQL Server instances between environments. It is for database administrators who manage SQL Server systems and migrations.

dataplat/dbatools · 2,858 stars · on GitHub · dbatools.io

Reuse

Borrowing it

Nothing to install: this file belongs to dataplat/dbatools. Take a copy, put it at the same path in your own repository, and replace the rules that are about this project with yours.

Copy the file

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dataplat/dbatools/development/.github/copilot-instructions.md

Clone the repo

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/dataplat/dbatools

Made for: GitHub Copilot.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

README.md

[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/instructions/dataplat/dbatools/copilot-instructions/github.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/instructions/dataplat/dbatools/copilot-instructions)

Your own site

<a href="https://agentmods.dev/instructions/dataplat/dbatools/copilot-instructions"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/instructions/dataplat/dbatools/copilot-instructions/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>

Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.

Your own site · 80×15

<a href="https://agentmods.dev/instructions/dataplat/dbatools/copilot-instructions"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/instructions/dataplat/dbatools/copilot-instructions.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>

Per session 2,949 This file is loaded in full into every session.

When invoked 2,949 The same file — it is already loaded in full.

Security scan A 0 findings. A grade says what 26 rules found in the file — not that it is safe.

Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.

Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

Model	Per session	Once invoked
Fable 5.1	$0.02949	$0.02949
Opus 5.5	$0.01180	$0.01180
Sonnet 5.5	$0.00590	$0.00590
Haiku 4.5	$0.00295	$0.00295

Measured 2mo ago against content hash dd635c5e9aba, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-10-07, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

dbatools copilot-instructions.md scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 2mo ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

.github/copilot-instructions.md · 307 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 307 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

dbatools Repository Onboarding Guide

Repository Overview

dbatools is a PowerShell module with nearly 700 commands that automates SQL Server administration and database development. It enables DBAs to migrate SQL Server instances in minutes, test hundreds of backups automatically, and manage 100+ SQL instances from a single console. The project has 7+ million downloads, 250+ contributors, and 10+ years of active development.

Key Stats:

Size: ~700 PowerShell commands across ~9.5MB of source code
Languages: PowerShell (v3+ compatible, targets Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7+)
Framework: PowerShell module with SMO (SQL Server Management Objects) via dbatools.library
Target Systems: SQL Server 2000-2022, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance
Supported Platforms: Windows (100% commands), Linux/macOS (78% commands)

Critical Prerequisites

Required Dependencies

dbatools.library (v2025.8.17) - MANDATORY dependency module containing SMO libraries
- Install: Run .github/scripts/install-dbatools-library.ps1
- Version specified in: .github/dbatools-library-version.json
- Without this, the module will not load
PSScriptAnalyzer v1.18.2 - Required for code formatting and linting
- Install: Install-Module PSScriptAnalyzer -RequiredVersion 1.18.2
- Used by: Invoke-DbatoolsFormatter command and CI builds
Pester - Follow tests/CLAUDE.md for the supported runtime, installation, and test policy

PR Summary Guidelines

CRITICAL: When creating PR summaries using GitHub Copilot (or Claude Code), follow these rules to avoid verbose, unhelpful descriptions:

What Makes a Good PR Summary

DO:

Start with a one-sentence summary of WHAT changed (max 20 words)
Explain WHY the change was needed (problem being solved)
List WHAT was changed (2-5 bullet points maximum)
Keep it under 200 words total
Use plain language, not diff terminology
Focus on user impact or functional changes

Read the full file on GitHub · 307 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

2mo ago First seen · 307 lines · 2,949 tokens per session scan A dd635c5e9aba

Subscribe to this mod's changes

dbatools copilot-instructions.md is an instructions file published in the GitHub repository dataplat/dbatools (2,858 stars, last pushed 4d ago), licensed MIT. It adds 2,949 tokens to every session, about $0.0118 per session on Opus 5.5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-09-03.

Databases best-practices database-administration migrations powershell sql-server sql-server-migration

dbatools copilot-instructions.md next to 6 instructions from other repositories
Mod	Type	Stars	Last push	Licence	Scan	Tokens	Works with
dbatools copilot-instructions.mddataplat/dbatools	Instructions file	2.9k	4d ago	MIT	A	2,949	GitHub Copilot
vscode buildNext.instructions.mdmicrosoft/vscode	Instructions file	195k	today	MIT	A	9,719	GitHub Copilot
next.js AGENTS.mdvercel/next.js	Instructions file	143k	today	MIT	A	7,461	Codex, OpenCode
langchain AGENTS.mdlangchain-ai/langchain	Instructions file	149k	today	MIT	A	4,680	Codex, OpenCode
vscode oss-third-party-notices.instructions.mdmicrosoft/vscode	Instructions file	195k	today	MIT	A	5,516	GitHub Copilot
vscode copilot-instructions.mdmicrosoft/vscode	Instructions file	195k	today	MIT	A	3,093	GitHub Copilot
deepseek-harness AGENTS.mddeepseek-ai/deepseek-harness	Instructions file	274k	2d ago	MIT	A	4,313	Codex, OpenCode

dbatools: Instructions file for GitHub Copilot