github-copilot-rules: Instructions file for GitHub Copilot

.github/instructions/testing-xunit.instructions.md

github-copilot-rules testing-xunit.instructions.md is an instructions file for GitHub Copilot from NikiforovAll/github-copilot-rules. It costs 2,276 tokens per session, scanned A, original, Apache-2.0.

Guidelines for writing maintainable automated tests with xUnit, a testing framework for .NET projects. They cover test structure, isolation, logging, shared fixtures, and coverage.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use them when creating or reviewing xUnit tests, especially tests that share resources such as a database connection.
Why use it?
They provide consistent patterns for tests that are easier to understand, repeat, and maintain.

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/testing-xunit.instructions.md
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/NikiforovAll/github-copilot-rules

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.

agentmods badge for github-copilot-rules testing-xunit.instructions.md

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/instructions/nikiforovall/github-copilot-rules/testing-xunit/github.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/instructions/nikiforovall/github-copilot-rules/testing-xunit)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/instructions/nikiforovall/github-copilot-rules/testing-xunit"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/instructions/nikiforovall/github-copilot-rules/testing-xunit/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.

agentmods 80×15 button for github-copilot-rules testing-xunit.instructions.md

Your own site · 80×15
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/instructions/nikiforovall/github-copilot-rules/testing-xunit"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/instructions/nikiforovall/github-copilot-rules/testing-xunit.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 2,276 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 2,276 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.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5.1 $0.02276 $0.02276
Opus 5.5 $0.00910 $0.00910
Sonnet 5.5 $0.00455 $0.00455
Haiku 4.5 $0.00228 $0.00228

Measured 2mo ago against content hash 38813e46c783, 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 testing-xunit.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/testing-xunit.instructions.md · 387 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 387 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Role Definition:

  • Test Engineer
  • Quality Assurance Specialist

General:

Description: Tests should be reliable, maintainable, and provide meaningful coverage. Use xUnit as the primary testing framework, with proper isolation and clear patterns for test organization and execution.

Requirements:

  • Use xUnit as the testing framework
  • Ensure test isolation
  • Follow consistent patterns
  • Maintain high code coverage

Test Class Structure:

  • Use ITestOutputHelper for logging:
    public class OrderProcessingTests(ITestOutputHelper output)
    {
        
        [Fact]
        public async Task ProcessOrder_ValidOrder_Succeeds()
        {
            output.WriteLine("Starting test with valid order");
            // Test implementation
        }
    }
    
  • Use fixtures for shared state:
    public class DatabaseFixture : IAsyncLifetime
    {
        public DbConnection Connection { get; private set; }
        
        public async Task InitializeAsync()
        {
            Connection = new SqlConnection("connection-string");
            await Connection.OpenAsync();
        }
        
        public async Task DisposeAsync()
        {
            await Connection.DisposeAsync();
        }
    }
    
    public class OrderTests : IClassFixture<DatabaseFixture>
    {
        private readonly DatabaseFixture _fixture;
        private readonly ITestOutputHelper _output;
        
        public OrderTests(DatabaseFixture fixture, ITestOutputHelper output)
        {
            _fixture = fixture;
            _output = output;
        }
    }
    

Test Methods:

  • Prefer Theory over multiple Facts:
    public class DiscountCalculatorTests
    {
        public static TheoryData<decimal, int, decimal> DiscountTestData => 
            new()
            {
                { 100m, 1, 0m },      // No discount for single item
                { 100m, 5, 5m },      // 5% for 5 items
                { 100m, 10, 10m },    // 10% for 10 items
            };
        
        [Theory]
        [MemberData(nameof(DiscountTestData))]
        public void CalculateDiscount_ReturnsCorrectAmount(
            decimal price,
            int quantity,
            decimal expectedDiscount)
        {
            // Arrange
            var calculator = new DiscountCalculator();
            
            // Act
            var discount = calculator.Calculate(price, quantity);
            
            // Assert
            Assert.Equal(expectedDiscount, discount);
        }
    }
    
  • Follow Arrange-Act-Assert pattern:
    [Fact]
    public async Task ProcessOrder_ValidOrder_UpdatesInventory()
    {
        // Arrange
        var order = new Order(
            OrderId.New(),
            new[] { new OrderLine("SKU123", 5) });
        var processor = new OrderProcessor(_mockRepository.Object);
        
        // Act
        var result = await processor.ProcessAsync(order);
        
        // Assert
        Assert.True(result.IsSuccess);
        _mockRepository.Verify(
            r => r.UpdateInventoryAsync(
                It.IsAny<string>(),
                It.IsAny<int>()),
            Times.Once);
    }
    

Read the full file on GitHub · 387 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 · 387 lines · 2,276 tokens per session scan A 38813e46c783

Subscribe to this mod's changes

github-copilot-rules testing-xunit.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 2,276 tokens to every session, about $0.0091 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.

Related

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).

microsoft/vscode · 9,715 tokens

next.js AGENTS.md

AGENTS.md instructions for vercel/next.js, covering next.js development guide, codebase structure, monorepo overview, core package: packages/next and other important packages.

vercel/next.js · 7,461 tokens

vscode oss-third-party-notices.instructions.md

Instructions for microsoft/vscode, covering vs code oss third-party-notices pipeline, architecture, pipeline flow in ci, cache eligibility and rollout and applying the notice (cutover).

microsoft/vscode · 5,262 tokens

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.

langchain-ai/langchain · 4,680 tokens

vscode copilot-instructions.md

Copilot instructions for microsoft/vscode, covering vs code copilot instructions, project overview, root folders, core architecture (src/ folder) and built-in extensions (extensions/ folder).

microsoft/vscode · 2,750 tokens

deepseek-harness AGENTS.md

AGENTS.md instructions for deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness, covering agents.md, pre-stable apis and released session data, repository layout, commands and host sandbox failures.

deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness · 4,261 tokens