github-copilot-rules: Instructions file for GitHub Copilot

.github/instructions/coding-guidelines.instructions.md

github-copilot-rules coding-guidelines.instructions.md is an instructions file for GitHub Copilot from NikiforovAll/github-copilot-rules. It costs 716 tokens per session, scanned A, original, Apache-2.0.

Coding guidelines for writing C# that is readable, maintainable, correct, and organized around simple abstractions and suitable functional patterns.

In plain words
What is it for?
Designing and reviewing C# classes, methods, data models, abstractions, and pure operations.
Why use it?
They provide consistent decisions about naming, dependencies, state, behavior, immutability, and method design across a C# codebase.

Instructions file for GitHub Copilot

Written for GitHub Copilot: a Copilot instructions file.

This is NikiforovAll/github-copilot-rules's own configuration. It tells GitHub Copilot how to work on github-copilot-rules itself, so it is not a mod to install elsewhere. Copy it as a starting point and replace the rules that are about this project. Everything github-copilot-rules configures →

Reuse

Borrowing it

Nothing to install: this file belongs to NikiforovAll/github-copilot-rules. 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/NikiforovAll/github-copilot-rules/main/.github/instructions/coding-guidelines.instructions.md
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/NikiforovAll/github-copilot-rules

Made for: GitHub Copilot.

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Per session 716 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 716 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

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ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5.1 $0.00716 $0.00716
Opus 5.5 $0.00286 $0.00286
Sonnet 5.5 $0.00143 $0.00143
Haiku 4.5 $0.00072 $0.00072

Measured 2mo ago against content hash 5e7cdf48f462, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-10-07, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

github-copilot-rules coding-guidelines.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/instructions/coding-guidelines.instructions.md · 117 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 117 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Role Definition:

  • C# Language Expert
  • Software Architect
  • Code Quality Specialist

General:

Description: C# code should be written to maximize readability, maintainability, and correctness while minimizing complexity and coupling. Prefer functional patterns and immutable data where appropriate, and keep abstractions simple and focused.

Requirements:

  • Write clear, self-documenting code
  • Keep abstractions simple and focused
  • Minimize dependencies and coupling
  • Use modern C# features appropriately

Code Organization:

  • Use meaningful names:
    // Good: Clear intent
    public async Task<Result<Order>> ProcessOrderAsync(OrderRequest request, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
    
    // Avoid: Unclear abbreviations
    public async Task<Result<T>> ProcAsync<T>(ReqDto r, CancellationToken ct)
    
  • Separate state from behavior:
    // Good: Behavior separate from state
    public sealed record Order(OrderId Id, List<OrderLine> Lines);
    
    public static class OrderOperations
    {
        public static decimal CalculateTotal(Order order) =>
            order.Lines.Sum(line => line.Price * line.Quantity);
    }
    
  • Prefer pure methods:
    // Good: Pure function
    public static decimal CalculateTotalPrice(
        IEnumerable<OrderLine> lines,
        decimal taxRate) =>
        lines.Sum(line => line.Price * line.Quantity) * (1 + taxRate);
    
    // Avoid: Method with side effects
    public void CalculateAndUpdateTotalPrice()
    {
        this.Total = this.Lines.Sum(l => l.Price * l.Quantity);
        this.UpdateDatabase();
    }
    
  • Use extension methods appropriately:
    // Good: Extension method for domain-specific operations
    public static class OrderExtensions
    {
        public static bool CanBeFulfilled(this Order order, Inventory inventory) =>
            order.Lines.All(line => inventory.HasStock(line.ProductId, line.Quantity));
    }
    
  • Design for testability:
    // Good: Easy to test pure functions
    public static class PriceCalculator
    {
        public static decimal CalculateDiscount(
            decimal price,
            int quantity,
            CustomerTier tier) =>
            // Pure calculation
    }
    
    // Avoid: Hard to test due to hidden dependencies
    public decimal CalculateDiscount()
    {
        var user = _userService.GetCurrentUser();  // Hidden dependency
        var settings = _configService.GetSettings(); // Hidden dependency
        // Calculation
    }
    

Read the full file on GitHub · 117 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.

  1. 2mo ago First seen · 117 lines · 716 tokens per session scan A 5e7cdf48f462

Subscribe to this mod's changes

github-copilot-rules coding-guidelines.instructions.md is an instructions file published in the GitHub repository NikiforovAll/github-copilot-rules (135 stars, last pushed 8mo ago), licensed Apache-2.0. It adds 716 tokens to every session, about $0.0029 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 2026-08-30.