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VS Code (Copilot Chat)

VS Code with GitHub Copilot Chat supports Agent Skills through the Copilot integration. Skills live at .github/skills/ — the same path as standalone Copilot.

Quick install

Terminal window
pnpm dlx @zakelfassi/skdd init --harness=copilot

VS Code with Copilot Chat reads the same .github/skills/ path as standalone Copilot, so --harness=copilot is the right choice. The CLI creates skills/skillforge/SKILL.md (canonical), .skills-registry.md, the .github/copilot-instructions.md skills block, and .github/skills → ../skills as the mirror VS Code’s Copilot extension reads.

If your project already uses GitHub Copilot, follow docs/integrations/github-copilot.md — the wiring is identical.

VS Code-specific notes

  • Copilot Chat in VS Code honors .github/copilot-instructions.md automatically when the extension is enabled.
  • Some VS Code Copilot surfaces have Agent Skills support in “Agent Skills (preview)” under Settings → Extensions → GitHub Copilot Chat → Features. Turn it on if your skills aren’t being picked up.
  • VS Code’s Copilot extension ships a built-in Agent Skills browser (Command Palette → “Copilot: Browse Agent Skills”) that lists skills from .github/skills/ — a good sanity check that your colony is discoverable.
  • See code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/customization/agent-skills for the canonical VS Code docs.

Verify

Open the Agent Skills browser, confirm skillforge appears, then run the three-question check from the Copilot integration doc.

Troubleshooting

Same as Copilot. If the Agent Skills browser is empty, try disabling and re-enabling the GitHub Copilot Chat extension — the skill index is populated on activation.