Getting it into your agent
One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.
npx agentmods add instructions/ivegamsft/basecoat/copilot-instructionsgit clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ivegamsft/basecoatWhat 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 | $0.00990 | $0.00990 |
| Opus 5 | $0.00495 | $0.00495 |
| Sonnet 5 | $0.00198 | $0.00198 |
| Haiku 4.5 | $0.00099 | $0.00099 |
Grade A, and why
basecoat 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 2d 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.
How it starts
The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 80 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.
BaseCoat — Instruction Files (Routing Guide)
BaseCoat repository context is split into targeted instruction files to reduce
session payload and improve instruction relevance. Use /instructions list to see
all active files for your workflow.
Targeted Instruction Files
| File | Context | ApplyTo |
|---|---|---|
repo-structure.instructions.md |
Directory org, file layout, markdown standards | agents/**/*, skills/**/*, prompts/**/*, docs/**/*, .github/instructions/**/* |
agents-skills-dev.instructions.md |
Agent/skill frontmatter, visibility tags, eval coverage | agents/**/*, skills/**/* |
workflow-conventions.instructions.md |
Git workflow, branch naming, commit conventions | .github/**/*, *.md files |
testing-validation.instructions.md |
Validation commands, CI expectations, test patterns | scripts/**/*, tests/**/*, workflows |
deployment-infrastructure.instructions.md |
Workflows, PRD gates, MCP servers, authentication | .github/workflows/**/*, IaC |
cost-optimization.instructions.md |
Session hygiene, fleet patterns, token budgeting | docs/**/*, .github/**/* |
How to Use
When working on a specific task, these files load automatically via applyTo patterns.
For manual context:
- Building agents/skills:
/instructions agents-skills-dev - Setting up CI workflows:
/instructions deployment-infrastructure - Reducing token costs:
/instructions cost-optimization - Understanding the repo:
/instructions repo-structure - Troubleshooting tests:
/instructions testing-validation
Token Impact
This split reduces baseline instruction payload by 72%:
- Before: 25KB monolithic file (loaded every session)
- After: 7KB baseline (repo-structure only) + task-specific files (1-3KB each)
- Estimated savings: 15M tokens/month
See .github/instructions/cost-optimization.instructions.md for session hygiene patterns
that further reduce token spend (~135M tokens/mo additional savings).
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.
- 2d ago First seen · 80 lines · 990 tokens per session scan A e76794532d8f
basecoat copilot-instructions.md is an instructions file published in the GitHub repository ivegamsft/basecoat (4 stars, last pushed 23d ago), licensed MIT. It adds 990 tokens to every session, about $0.0049 per session on Opus 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 2026-08-31.
Other instructions, from other repositories
vscode buildNext.instructions.md
Working notes and architecture documentation for the new esbuild-based build system in build/next. Use when making changes to the new build pipeline (transpile/bundle commands, NLS plugin, source-map handling, resource copying, or self-hosting watch tasks).
spec-kit AGENTS.md
AGENTS.md instructions for github/spec-kit, covering agents.md, about spec kit and specify, quickstart — add a new integration in 5 steps, integration architecture and integrationmanifest — file tracking.
codex AGENTS.md
AGENTS.md instructions for openai/codex, covering rust/codex-rs, the codex-core crate, code review rules, crate api surface and model visible context.
langchain AGENTS.md
AGENTS.md instructions for langchain-ai/langchain, covering global development guidelines for the langchain monorepo, corridor security analysis, project architecture and context, monorepo structure and development tools & commands.
vscode oss-third-party-notices.instructions.md
Instructions for microsoft/vscode, covering vs code oss third-party-notices pipeline, architecture, pipeline flow in ci, applying the notice (cutover) and fallback chain (never fail the build).
next.js AGENTS.md
Instructions for vercel/next.js, covering next.js development guide, codebase structure, monorepo overview, core package: packages/next and other important packages.