Copilot Agent Patterns Skill

Purpose

Provides proven patterns for designing, implementing, and orchestrating GitHub Copilot custom agents.

Agent Design Patterns

Specialist Agent Pattern

• Focused on single domain expertise
• Minimal tool set (view, edit, create, shell, search_code)
• Clear scope boundaries (MUST/MUST NOT)
• Skills integration references

Orchestrator Agent Pattern

• Broad tool access (tools: ["*"])
• Creates and assigns GitHub issues
• Delegates to specialist agents
• Tracks progress and quality

YAML Frontmatter Standards

name: agent-name               # Lowercase, hyphen-separated
description: Brief expertise   # Max 200 characters
tools: ["tool1", "tool2"]     # Minimal set for non-meta agents

Collaboration Patterns

• Sequential: Task agent → creates issues → assigns specialists
• Parallel: Multiple specialists work on different scopes simultaneously
• Stacked PRs: Foundation PR → Implementation PR → Polish PR (using base_ref)

Agent Boundaries

• Each agent respects its expertise area
• Delegates outside its scope
• References skills library constantly
• Follows ISMS policies automatically

Copilot Coding Agent Tools

• assign_copilot_to_issue — with base_ref and custom_instructions
• create_pull_request_with_copilot — with base_ref and custom_agent
• get_copilot_job_status — for tracking progress

Best Practices

• Focus on expertise area
• Complete work autonomously when possible
• Test changes thoroughly
• Document decisions
• Only ask when genuinely ambiguous

Related Policies

• Secure Development Policy