Kine's Central Copilot Instruction Sync

Synchronize centralized GitHub Copilot instructions from remote URLs or local files based on programming language configuration. Keep your team's Copilot instructions consistent across all repositories by fetching them from a central source.

Features

• Automatic Language Detection: Detects the programming language of your workspace (C#, AL, TypeScript, Python, and many more)
• URL-Based Instructions: Fetch Copilot instructions from any accessible URL (GitHub raw files, internal servers, etc.)
• Local File Support: Use local file paths as instruction sources (useful for shared network drives or local development)
• Multi-Language Support: Configure different instruction sources for different programming languages
• Multiple Files per Language: Sync multiple instruction files for a single language to different destinations
• Automatic Sync on Open: Optionally sync instructions when you open a workspace
• Manual Sync Commands: Sync instructions on-demand via command palette
• Flexible Confirmation: Confirm individually, "Yes to All" for the current session, or disable permanently

How It Works

1. When a workspace is opened, the extension detects the programming languages used
2. It checks your configured instruction sources for a matching language
3. All matching sources are synced — you can define multiple files per language with different destinations
4. If the remote instructions differ from the local file, they are synchronized
5. Your team's centralized Copilot instructions are now available in your workspace

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

instructionSync.sources

An array of instruction sources. Each source has:

• language: The programming language (e.g., "C#", "AL", "TypeScript")
• url: The URL or local file path to fetch instructions from
• enabled: Whether this source is active (default: true)
• destinationFolder: The folder where the instructions file will be created (default: ".github")
• destinationFile: The name of the instructions file (default: "copilot-instructions.md")

Supported source formats:

• Remote URLs: https://example.com/instructions.md
• Local Windows paths: C:\shared\instructions.md
• Local Unix paths: /shared/instructions.md
• File URIs: file:///C:/shared/instructions.md

Example configuration:

{
  "instructionSync.sources": [
    {
      "language": "C#",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/your-org/standards/main/copilot-instructions-csharp.md",
      "enabled": true
    },
    {
      "language": "AL",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/your-org/standards/main/copilot-instructions-al.md",
      "enabled": true,
      "destinationFolder": ".vscode",
      "destinationFile": "al-instructions.md"
    },
    {
      "language": "TypeScript",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/your-org/standards/main/copilot-instructions-typescript.md",
      "enabled": true
    }
  ]
}

Multiple files per language

You can define multiple sources for the same language, each with a different destination file:

{
  "instructionSync.sources": [
    {
      "language": "C#",
      "url": "https://example.com/csharp-general.md",
      "destinationFile": "copilot-instructions.md"
    },
    {
      "language": "C#",
      "url": "https://example.com/csharp-testing.md",
      "destinationFile": "copilot-testing-instructions.md"
    },
    {
      "language": "C#",
      "url": "https://example.com/csharp-architecture.md",
      "destinationFolder": ".vscode",
      "destinationFile": "copilot-architecture.md"
    }
  ]
}

Each source is uniquely identified by the combination of language + destination path. When merging remote and local configurations, a local source overrides a remote source only if both the language and destination path match.

instructionSync.syncOnOpen

• Type: boolean
• Default: true
• Automatically sync instructions when a workspace is opened

instructionSync.syncOnConfigChange

• Type: boolean
• Default: false
• Automatically sync instructions when the configuration changes

instructionSync.confirmBeforeSync

• Type: boolean
• Default: true
• Show confirmation dialog before overwriting local instructions
• When multiple files are being synced, the confirmation dialog offers "Yes to All" to approve all remaining files in the current sync session

instructionSync.syncSettingsOnOpen

• Type: boolean
• Default: true
• Automatically sync VS Code settings from remote configuration when a workspace is opened

instructionSync.settingsBlacklist

• Type: array of strings
• Default: Security-sensitive settings are blocked by default
• List of setting patterns that should never be synced from remote configuration
• Supports wildcards (*) at the end of patterns (e.g., terminal.integrated.env.*)

Default blacklisted patterns:

• terminal.integrated.env.*
• terminal.integrated.shellArgs.*
• terminal.integrated.automationProfile.*
• terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.*
• terminal.integrated.profiles.*
• security.*
• remote.*
• extensions.autoUpdate
• extensions.autoCheckUpdates
• update.*

VS Code Settings Sync

In addition to syncing Copilot instructions, this extension can also sync VS Code settings from your remote configuration. This allows teams to maintain consistent editor settings across all developers.

Remote Configuration Schema

Your remote configuration JSON file can include a settings array alongside sources:

{
  "sources": [
    { "language": "TypeScript", "url": "https://example.com/ts-instructions.md" }
  ],
  "settings": [
    {
      "scope": "workspace",
      "settings": {
        "editor.formatOnSave": true,
        "editor.tabSize": 2
      }
    },
    {
      "language": "TypeScript",
      "scope": "workspace",
      "settings": {
        "typescript.tsdk": "node_modules/typescript/lib",
        "[typescript].editor.formatOnSave": true
      }
    },
    {
      "scope": "user",
      "settings": {
        "editor.fontSize": 14
      }
    }
  ]
}

Settings Configuration Properties

Each settings entry supports:

Scope Behavior

• user: Settings are applied to your global VS Code user settings (applies across all workspaces)
• workspace: Settings are applied to the current workspace's .vscode/settings.json

Language Filtering

Settings with a language property only apply when that language is detected in the workspace:

{
  "settings": [
    {
      "language": "Python",
      "scope": "workspace",
      "settings": {
        "python.linting.enabled": true,
        "python.formatting.provider": "black"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Settings without a language property apply to all workspaces regardless of detected languages.

Security

For security reasons, certain sensitive settings are blocked by default and cannot be synced remotely:

• Terminal environment and shell settings
• Security and trust settings
• Remote connection settings
• Extension auto-update settings

You can customize the blacklist via instructionSync.settingsBlacklist.

Confirmation Dialog

Before applying settings, a confirmation dialog shows all changes that will be made:

• Old values vs new values for each setting
• Which scope (user/workspace) each change applies to
• Option to apply or cancel

Commands

Access these commands via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P):

Supported Languages

The extension can detect the following languages:

• AL
• C#
• TypeScript
• JavaScript
• Python
• Java
• Go
• Rust
• C++
• C
• Ruby
• PHP
• Swift
• Kotlin
• Powershell

Usage Example

1. Install the extension
2. Open Settings (Ctrl+,) and search for "Instruction Sync"
3. Add your instruction sources with language and URL mappings
4. Open a workspace - instructions will be automatically synced if the language matches
5. Or manually run "Sync Copilot Instructions" from the Command Palette

Requirements

• VS Code 1.108.1 or higher
• Network access to the configured instruction URLs

Release Notes

0.0.13 (Unreleased)

• VS Code Settings Sync: Sync VS Code settings from remote configuration
  • Apply settings to user scope (global) or workspace scope
  • Optional language filtering for language-specific settings
  • Security blacklist prevents syncing sensitive settings (terminal, security, remote, etc.)
  • Confirmation dialog shows all changes before applying
• New configuration options:
  • instructionSync.syncSettingsOnOpen: Enable/disable settings sync on workspace open
  • instructionSync.settingsBlacklist: Customize which settings patterns are blocked

0.0.10

• Support multiple instruction sources per language with different destination files
• Added "Yes to All" option in confirmation dialog for batch sync sessions

0.0.6

• Extended AL language detection to also detect app.json in root folder

0.0.5

• Improved multi-root workspace support with folder names in messages

0.0.4

• Added support for local file paths as instruction sources
• Supports Windows paths, Unix paths, and file:// URIs

0.0.3

• Per-language destination folder and file settings
• Confirmation dialog setting
• Improved user messages to show actual file names

0.0.2

• Added extension icon for marketplace

0.0.1

Initial release:

• Language detection for workspaces
• Configurable instruction sources (language + URL)
• Automatic sync on workspace open
• Manual sync commands
• Support for multiple languages

Enjoy consistent Copilot instructions across your team!