What are instructions?

AI Instructions are custom directive files that modify the behavior of GitHub Copilot. They allow you to define project-specific guidelines, coding standards, preferences, and workflows that Copilot should follow when working in your codebase.

Instructions are managed and installed through the Abyss CLI. They enable you to customize how Copilot interacts with your project, enforce team conventions, and automate repetitive guidance.

Installing instructions

Before you can install instructions, ensure you have the Abyss CLI set up properly:

npx @uhg-abyss/cli -v

If the command fails, refer to the CLI Setup Guide page for installation instructions.

To discover what instructions are available, use the instructions find command:

npx @uhg-abyss/cli instructions find

This opens an interactive searchable list of all available instructions in the catalog.

Once you've found instructions you want to install, use the instructions add command:

npx @uhg-abyss/cli instructions add <instruction-name>

The CLI will guide you through an interactive process to install the instructions for GitHub Copilot.

Installation paths

Instructions are installed as .instructions.md files:

Scope	Path	Description
Project	.github/instructions/	Committed with your project, applies to all team members
Global	~/.copilot/instructions/	Installed in your home directory, applies to all your projects

• Project scope installs instructions into .github/instructions/ in your current working directory
• Global scope installs instructions into ~/.copilot/instructions/ in your home directory

Each instruction is saved as a separate file named <instruction-name>.instructions.md.

Commands

instructions help

Display all available instructions commands and their usage.

npx @uhg-abyss/cli instructions help

instructions add

Install instructions by name. The CLI walks you through selecting install targets, scope, and method interactively.

npx @uhg-abyss/cli instructions add <instruction-name>

instructions list

List all installed instructions with their locations and scope.

Options:

Flag	Description
-g, --global	Show only globally installed instructions

---

# List all installed instructions
npx @uhg-abyss/cli instructions list

# List only global instructions
npx @uhg-abyss/cli instructions list --global

Tip

You can also use the shorter command instructions ls.

instructions find

Search for instructions in the catalog. If no query is provided, opens an interactive searchable list.

# Interactive search
npx @uhg-abyss/cli instructions find

# Direct keyword search
npx @uhg-abyss/cli instructions find <search-query>

instructions remove

Remove installed instructions. If no instruction names are provided, opens an interactive multiselect to choose which instructions to remove.

# Interactive removal
npx @uhg-abyss/cli instructions remove

# Remove specific instructions by name
npx @uhg-abyss/cli instructions remove <instruction-name>

Options:

Flag	Description
-g, --global	Remove only globally installed instructions

Tip

You can also use the shorter command instructions rm.