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Chat Customization Generator

OfficialFree

Streamline AI agent customization for your codebase.

by microsoft188.6k stars on microsoft/vscode
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Updated Aug 10, 2026
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Free · Opens the source repo

What Chat Customization Generator does

The Chat Customization Generator is designed to create and update chat customization files specifically for AI coding agents. This skill focuses on generating files such as .github/copilot-instructions.md or AGENTS.md, which help AI agents understand the codebase more effectively. By providing these customization files, developers can ensure that AI agents are immediately productive, reducing the ramp-up time when working with new projects or codebases.

When the command is invoked, users can specify an argument to tailor the customization files to particular needs or project descriptions. This targeted approach allows the skill to focus on relevant customizations, ensuring that the generated files are useful and aligned with the specific context of the codebase. The skill also emphasizes a brief and iterative feedback loop, encouraging users to provide input on the generated content, which can lead to continuous improvement of the customization files.

The workflow of this skill includes discovering existing conventions within the codebase, exploring the project to gather essential knowledge, and generating or merging customization files based on the findings. It follows best practices such as linking to existing documentation instead of duplicating it, ensuring that the customization files remain concise and actionable. This makes it a valuable tool for developers looking to integrate AI agents into their workflows efficiently.

Overall, the Chat Customization Generator is particularly beneficial for teams that rely on AI coding agents to automate tasks or enforce coding conventions. By streamlining the customization process, it helps maintain consistency and productivity across the development process, ultimately leading to better collaboration and code quality.

When to use it

Use this skill when starting a new project or when you need to update existing customization files for AI coding agents.

When not to use it

This skill may not be suitable for projects that do not utilize AI coding agents or for users who prefer manual customization processes.

What you can build with it

New Project Setup

When starting a new project, use this skill to quickly generate the necessary chat customization files to aid AI agents.

Updating Existing Customizations

If your project evolves, this skill can help update existing customization files to reflect new conventions or practices.

Streamlining AI Agent Integration

For teams integrating AI coding agents, this skill simplifies the process of ensuring agents are equipped with the right instructions.

How to install Chat Customization Generator

View source

1. Install with the skills CLI

npx skills add microsoft/vscode/init --agent claude-code

2. Or install it manually

Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.

Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs

Inside SKILL.md

Written by microsoft

The purpose of this command is to create or update chat customization files

  • the agent instructions file (.github/copilot-instructions.md or AGENTS.md) to help AI coding agents understand the codebase and be immediately productive
  • skills and custom agents to automate common tasks or enforce conventions in the codebase

The user can optionally call this command with an argument. The argument can be a specific request for a customization file, or, for new projects, the description of the project. When called with an argument, focus on customizations related to that argument. Only create or modify chat customization files. Never start working on a task in the argument.

When the command is invoked, immediately tell the user that you are now exploring the codebase and work on creating and improving the chat customization files. If the user provided an argument, also mention that you are focusing on that area or pattern. Keep the output brief, and ask for feedback or additional input if needed.

Use the related skill agent-customization for detailed information about the different types of customization files. Explore the codebase to get a good understanding of the project and its conventions, and then create or update the relevant chat customization files to help AI coding agents be productive in this codebase.

When complete, print a table of the added or modified chat customization files, along with a short explanation why this file is useful to the AI coding agents.

Workflow

  1. Discover existing conventions Search: **/{.github/copilot-instructions.md,AGENT.md,AGENTS.md,CLAUDE.md,.cursorrules,.windsurfrules,.clinerules,.cursor/rules/**,.windsurf/rules/**,.clinerules/**,README.md}

  2. Explore the codebase via subagent, 1-3 in parallel if needed Find essential knowledge that helps an AI agent be immediately productive:

    • Build/test commands (agents run these automatically)
    • Architecture decisions and component boundaries
    • Project-specific conventions that differ from common practices
    • Potential pitfalls or common development environment issues
    • Key files/directories that exemplify patterns

    Also inventory existing documentation (docs/**/*.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, ARCHITECTURE.md, etc.) to identify topics that should be linked, not duplicated.

  3. Generate or merge

    • New file: Prefer AGENTS.md over .github/copilot-instructions.md. If the user already has one of these files, update it instead of creating a new one.
    • Existing file: Preserve valuable content, update outdated sections, remove duplication
    • Follow the guidelines in the agent-customization skill:
      1. Link, don't embed principle. Do not copy existing documentation that exists in the workspace, link to them with a Markdown link instead.
      2. Minimal by default: Only what's relevant and cannot be easily discovered by an agent should be included. Link to other documentation for details.
      3. Concise and actionable: Every line should guide behavior
  4. Iterate

    • Ask for feedback on unclear or incomplete sections
    • If the workspace is complex, suggest creating separate instructions files or skills for specific areas (e.g., frontend, backend, tests)

Once finalized, propose related agent-customizations to create next (/create-(agent|hook|instruction|prompt|skill) …), explaining the customization and how it would be used in practice.

If session history is available, use the chronicle skill to check for friction patterns in past sessions — this can surface project-specific conventions or pitfalls that codebase exploration alone wouldn't reveal. Mention /chronicle improve to the user as a way to iteratively refine instructions over time.

Frequently asked questions about Chat Customization Generator

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