Table of Contents

Use Spec Kitty in GitHub Copilot

Tier: supported. Prompt-file mechanism. Citation (accessed 2026-05-21): https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/customizing-copilot/adding-custom-instructions-for-github-copilot

Prerequisites

  • Spec Kitty CLI installed. See Install Spec Kitty.
  • Project initialized for this harness: 
    spec-kitty init --ai copilot
    (The configuration key is copilot; the on-disk directory is .github/prompts/.)
  • GitHub Copilot enabled in your editor (VS Code, JetBrains, etc.) and signed in. Follow GitHub's Copilot customization docs for setup.

Where Spec Kitty installs files

Per the supported-harnesses matrix, GitHub Copilot uses the prompt-file mechanism. Spec Kitty installs:

  • Directory: .github/prompts/
  • Files: spec-kitty.specify.md, spec-kitty.plan.md, spec-kitty.tasks.md, spec-kitty.implement.md, spec-kitty.review.md, spec-kitty.accept.md, spec-kitty.merge.md, spec-kitty.dashboard.md, spec-kitty.status.md, spec-kitty.charter.md, spec-kitty.analyze.md, spec-kitty.research.md.

Canonical invocation

Inside Copilot Chat, prompt files are invoked with the slash-command convention:

/spec-kitty.specify "<one-line mission description>"
/spec-kitty.plan
/spec-kitty.tasks
/spec-kitty.implement WP01

Exact discovery rules depend on your editor and Copilot version. If /spec-kitty.* does not autocomplete, consult the host docs at https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/customizing-copilot/adding-custom-instructions-for-github-copilot for the current prompt-file invocation syntax.

Worked example

  1. Open your project in an editor with Copilot enabled.
  2. In Copilot Chat, type: 
    /spec-kitty.specify "a hello world page"
  3. Spec Kitty's interview prompts appear — answer them inline.
  4. When asked for a kebab-case slug, supply something short, e.g. hello-world-page.
  5. The mission spec lands at kitty-specs/hello-world-page-<mid8>/spec.md.

Troubleshooting

  • /spec-kitty.* prompts do not appear. Run spec-kitty agent config sync from the repo root. This rewrites .github/prompts/ from the canonical source templates. Reload your editor.

  • Profile not loading. In Copilot Chat, run:

    /ad-hoc-profile-load researcher-robbie

    Use the profile id from the work-package frontmatter.

Where to learn more about GitHub Copilot

Authoritative documentation: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/customizing-copilot/adding-custom-instructions-for-github-copilot (accessed 2026-05-21).

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