Skill: sync-to-copilot

Sync Claude Code knowledge to GitHub Copilot instructions. Two-tier output: project-specific + common protocol.

Quick Summary

Purpose: Keep Copilot instructions in sync with Claude Code workflows, dev rules, and project-reference docs.

Architecture (Two-Tier):

.github/copilot-instructions.md — Project-specific (always loaded by Copilot)

• TL;DR golden rules, decision table

• Project-reference docs index with READ prompts

• Key file locations, dev commands

.github/instructions/common-protocol.instructions.md — Generic protocols (applyTo: */ )

• Prompt protocol, before-editing rules

• Workflow catalog (from workflows.json)

• Workflow execution protocol

• Development rules (from development-rules.md)

.github/instructions/{group}.instructions.md — Per-group (applyTo: file patterns)

• Enhanced summaries per doc with READ prompts

• Groups: backend, frontend, styling, testing, project

What gets synced:

• Workflow catalog (from workflows.json) — SCRIPT-GENERATED

• Dev rules (from development-rules.md) — SCRIPT-GENERATED

• Project-reference summaries (from copilot-registry.json) — SCRIPT-GENERATED

• Enriched section headings and key patterns — AI-GENERATED (this skill)

Usage:

/sync-to-copilot

Script: .claude/scripts/sync-copilot-workflows.cjs

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

When to Use This Skill

Trigger this skill when:

• Workflows added/modified — After editing .claude/workflows.json

• Development rules changed — After editing .claude/workflows/development-rules.md

• Project-reference docs updated — After modifying files in docs/project-reference/

• Registry entries changed — After editing docs/copilot-registry.json

• Regular maintenance — Quarterly sync to ensure Copilot parity

• Copilot setup — First-time Copilot instructions creation

Workflow

Phase 1: Script Generation (Automated)

node .claude/scripts/sync-copilot-workflows.cjs

This generates:

• .github/copilot-instructions.md — project-specific with registry summaries

• .github/instructions/common-protocol.instructions.md — generic protocols

• .github/instructions/{group}.instructions.md — per-group instruction files

• Removes old .github/common.copilot-instructions.md if it exists

Phase 2: AI Enrichment (This Skill)

After the script runs, the AI MUST enrich the generated instruction files:

For each per-group instruction file in .github/instructions/ :

• Read the corresponding docs/project-reference/*.md source file

• Extract the ## section headings from the source file

• Add a "Key Sections" list under each doc entry showing the headings

• Keep it concise — headings only, no content duplication

For .github/copilot-instructions.md :

• Verify the TL;DR golden rules in docs/copilot-registry.json → projectInstructions.goldenRules still match CLAUDE.md

• Check if any new project-reference files exist but are missing from docs/copilot-registry.json

• If missing entries found, add them to the registry and re-run the script

For docs/copilot-registry.json :

• Verify each summary field accurately describes the current file content

• Update stale summaries based on actual file content

• Add entries for any new docs/project-reference/*.md files

Phase 3: Verification

Check that:

• .github/copilot-instructions.md contains project-specific content

• .github/instructions/common-protocol.instructions.md contains protocols + workflow catalog

• Per-group instruction files contain READ prompts

• No old common.copilot-instructions.md file remains

• Workflow count matches workflows.json

• All project-reference files are represented in the registry

AI Enrichment Protocol

When enriching per-group instruction files, follow this pattern for each doc entry:

Doc Title

Summary: One-line summary from registry.

Key Sections:

• Section 1 Name
• Section 2 Name
• Section 3 Name
• ...

READ docs/project-reference/filename.md when: trigger description

Rules:

• Extract ONLY ## level headings from the source file (not ### or deeper)

• Do NOT copy content — just list heading names

• Keep the READ prompt from the registry whenToRead field

• If a file is very large (>30KB), note the file size: (~59KB - read relevant sections)

Output Files

File Type Content

.github/copilot-instructions.md

Project-specific TL;DR + project-reference index + READ prompts

.github/instructions/common-protocol.instructions.md

Generic (applyTo: */ ) Prompt protocol + workflow catalog + dev rules

.github/instructions/backend-csharp.instructions.md

Backend (applyTo: **/*.cs ) Backend doc summaries + READ prompts

.github/instructions/frontend-angular.instructions.md

Frontend (applyTo: /*.ts,/*.html ) Frontend doc summaries + READ prompts

.github/instructions/styling-scss.instructions.md

Styling (applyTo: /*.scss,/*.css ) Styling doc summaries + READ prompts

.github/instructions/testing.instructions.md

Testing (applyTo: /Test/,... ) Testing doc summaries + READ prompts

.github/instructions/project-reference.instructions.md

Cross-cutting (applyTo: */ ) General project doc summaries + READ prompts

Copilot Limitations

Copilot can't enforce protocols like Claude Code hooks:

• No blocking operations (edit-enforcement, search-before-code)

• Relies on LLM instruction-following (not guaranteed)

• Protocols are advisory, not enforced

• No runtime context injection — all context must be in instruction files

Benefits:

• Consistent guidance across AI tools

• Same workflow detection for Claude and Copilot users

• READ prompts enable on-demand context loading

• Automated sync reduces configuration drift

Troubleshooting

Issue: "workflows.json not found"

Solution: Ensure you're running from project root

Issue: Missing project-reference files in registry

Solution: Add entries to docs/copilot-registry.json , then re-run script

Issue: Stale summaries

Solution: Run this skill — AI will read files and update summaries

Related Skills

• /ai-dev-tools-sync — Broader Claude/Copilot sync (skills, prompts, agents)

• /sync-copilot-workflows — Workflow-only sync (subset of this skill)

References

• Script: .claude/scripts/sync-copilot-workflows.cjs

• Registry: docs/copilot-registry.json

• Sources: .claude/workflows.json , .claude/workflows/development-rules.md

• Main output: .github/copilot-instructions.md

• Instruction files: .github/instructions/*.instructions.md