A curated collection of GitHub Copilot prompts, instructions, and chat modes for modern web development
This repository contains battle-tested GitHub Copilot configurations that I use daily and showcase on my YouTube channel. Each prompt and configuration is designed to boost your productivity and help you write better code faster.
Star ⭐ this repo to keep up with new additions and updates!
Fine-tuned instructions for specific frameworks and patterns
| Instruction | Description | Tech Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Coming soon | Custom instructions for specific frameworks | Planned |
Ready-to-use prompts for common development tasks
📖 Read the Custom Prompts Guide for detailed documentation on how to use and create prompts.
| Prompt | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|
| architecture-review | Focused architectural review using Sequential Thinking for multi-dimensional analysis | Architecture |
| code-review | High-rigor, tech-agnostic code review that surfaces critical issues first | Code Quality |
| pragmatic-code-review | Production-focused code review balancing engineering rigor with real-world constraints | Code Quality |
| refactor | Intelligent refactoring following user instructions or applying best practices automatically | Code Quality |
| optimize-performance | Identify and eliminate performance anti-patterns using static analysis and language-idiomatic optimizations | Performance |
| create-prompt | Meta-prompt to generate new custom prompts following VS Code best practices | Meta |
| document | Generate exceptional documentation with Mermaid diagrams and practical examples | Documentation |
Specialized Copilot agent personalities for different development scenarios
| Agent | Description | MCP Tools |
|---|---|---|
| backend-engineer | Pragmatic backend engineer specializing in APIs, databases, and server-side architecture | Sequential Thinking, Context7 |
- Copy the agent file to your project's
.github/agents/directory (VS Code automatically detects.agent.mdfiles in this folder) - Ensure required MCP servers are configured in your
.vscode/mcp.json(see MCP Servers section) - Select the agent from the agents dropdown in Copilot Chat (click on the current agent name at the top of the chat panel)
- Start chatting - describe the feature, API endpoint, database operation, or issue you want to solve. You can also ask the agent to brainstorm ideas for backend architecture, API design, or database schema - it will generate multiple alternatives with trade-offs for you to choose from.
Note: Custom agents require VS Code 1.106 or later.
What is MCP?
- Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets Copilot (and other MCP-capable assistants) connect to external "tool servers" for memory, project context, tools and frameworks docs, helps to structure it's thinking process, and domain-specific knowledge.
- This repo ships a ready-to-use
.vscode/mcp.jsonplus a memory template (it's empty, MCP will fill it out) at.mcp/memory.json.dist.
.vscode/mcp.json- a sample configuration wiring up the servers below.mcp/memory.json.dist- template for local, per-project memory storage
-
Prerequisites
- GitHub Copilot Chat in VSCode with MCP enabled in settings
- Sometimes additional things like Node.js installed, etc. as required by each server (see their repos)
-
Copy the memory storage template (if you want to use
memoryMCP).mcp/memory.json.distand save it as.mcp/memory.json- Initially
memory.jsonis an empty file, so you can just create empty file at.mcp/memory.json - I recommend to add
.mcp/memory.json.distto the Git repo if you work with a team ⚠️ Never commit the.mcp/memory.jsonfile, it'll contain data relevant to your work⚠️ Memory file might be cleared on extensions update and in other cases, check MCP's repo- It's recommended to add similar instruction to your project's README so collaborators set it up too
- Initially
-
Copy configurations of the servers you want to use from the
.vscode/mcp.jsonto your project- Sometimes MCP server has
${input:input-id}in theenvor other section, this means it's going to store some env variables in VSCode and the specificinputis defined in theinputsfield of the JSON configuration object at.vscode/mcp.json. - If
inputis required for a MCP server (like forshadcn-ui) you will be prompted for the value on the server's first startup, then it's going to be saved securely by VSCode. - 👍 To use
inputsis my preferred way of storing env variables for MCP servers. I want to commit.vscode/mcp.json, so my team members can use them too anytime they want, without any danger of sharing the real env variables.
- Sometimes MCP server has
| Name | What it gives you | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sequential Thinking | This MCP gives the agent ability use more structured thinking process, it's really powerful when combined with the right prompts | 🌟 I use it everyday, basically all the time |
| Memory | It gives your agent ability to memorise different things between conversations, it's really powerful when connected with other MCP servers or remembering some things about the project | |
| Context7 | It allows your agent to have the best context when it comes to the newest versions of tools, libraries, frameworks, etc. | 🆓 Free for all developers! I use this whenever I need up-to-date library context. Highly recommended for every project. |
| Shadcn UI | It gives the agent access to the Shadcn UI components and helps understand how they should be used | To me it's absolute banger. 🚀 I use it whenever I work with Shadcn UI in my projects. |
| Chrome DevTools | Brings Chrome DevTools debugging capabilities to your agent - inspect live pages, debug network/console errors, simulate user behavior, analyze performance, and verify code changes in real-time | 🔍 Perfect for debugging web apps and performance audits |
- Browse the categories above
- Click on any link / prompt that interests you
- Copy the content
- Paste into GitHub Copilot Chat or just copy entire instruction / prompt / chat mode / MCP configuration and 💾 save in your repo
- Customize for your specific needs
All things in this repo are optimized for:
- Backend: Go, Node.js, Express, NestJS, TypeScript, PHP
- Frontend: React, Astro, Next.js, TailwindCSS, TanStack
- Database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, TypeORM, GORM, Atlas
- DevOps: Docker, Colima (Docker Desktop alternative), GitHub Actions
- Testing: Jest, Vitest, native testing libs (Node.js, Go), Playwright
Found a prompt that supercharged your workflow? Feel free to contribute!
- Fork this repository
- Add your prompt/instruction/chat mode
- Follow the existing format
- Submit a PR with a clear description
If you have a question or want to talk about some idea related to this repo - feel free to open an issue.
- YouTube: IKcode Igor Wnek - New videos weekly
- GitHub: @IgorWnek
- BlueSky 🦋: @ikcode.dev
MIT License - Use these prompts freely in your projects!
⭐ If you find this useful, please star the repository! It helps others discover these resources and motivates me to add more content.