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Copilot AI commented Jan 20, 2026

Summary

Agents need better context about repository structure before starting work. Added instruction to run tree command at the beginning of AGENTS.md.

Changes

  • New "Initial exploration" section before "Structure" section
  • Instructs agents to run tree --prune -I 'bin|obj|.git' before starting work
  • Filters out .NET build artifacts (bin, obj) and git metadata (.git)

Example Output

.
├── AGENTS.md
├── Void.slnx
├── docs
├── pdk
├── src
│   ├── Api
│   ├── Plugins
│   │   ├── Common
│   │   ├── Essentials
│   │   └── ProtocolSupport
│   └── Terminal
└── tests

Clean tree view without build noise enables faster orientation in codebase.

Original prompt

Update AGENTS.md instructing agents to execute tree --prune -I 'bin|obj|.git' before any work to better understand the repo.


💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

Added instruction for agents to run `tree --prune -I 'bin|obj|.git'` before starting work to better understand the repository structure.

Co-authored-by: caunt <5324218+caunt@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Update AGENTS.md with repository inspection instructions docs(agents): 📝 added tree command instruction for initial exploration Jan 20, 2026
Copilot AI requested a review from caunt January 20, 2026 17:46
@caunt caunt marked this pull request as ready for review January 20, 2026 20:53
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings January 20, 2026 20:53
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Pull request overview

This PR enhances the AGENTS.md guidelines by adding instructions for agents to explore the repository structure before starting work.

Changes:

  • Added new "Initial exploration" section with tree command instruction to help agents understand repository structure upfront

@caunt caunt merged commit 658cfe7 into main Jan 20, 2026
21 checks passed
@caunt caunt deleted the copilot/update-agents-md-instructions branch January 20, 2026 20:57
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2 participants