GitHub Copilot — PactKit Docs

Overview

GitHub Copilot integration is available since PactKit v2.9.4 via the pactkit-copilot adapter package.

Copilot works differently from other adapters. Claude Code, OpenCode, and Codex CLI deploy to a user-level directory once (~/.claude/, ~/.config/opencode/, ~/.codex/) and all projects share the same configuration. Copilot deploys to a project-level .github/ directory — each new project requires its own pactkit init.

Why project-level?

GitHub Copilot loads configuration from the project's .github/ directory. There is no global user-level config directory like ~/.claude/. This means:

Skills, agents, and prompts must live inside each project
Rules cannot use @include — they must be inlined into command prompts
Each project is self-contained and version-controlled

Deployment Model Comparison

	Claude Code	OpenCode	Codex CLI	Copilot
Deploy target	`~/.claude/` (user)	`~/.config/opencode/` (user)	`~/.codex/` (user)	`.github/` (project)
First-time setup	`pactkit init` once	`pactkit init` once	`pactkit init` once	`pactkit init` per project
Shared across projects	Yes	Yes	Yes	No — each project owns its config
Rules loading	`@import`	`instructions` + `@reference`	Inline in skills	Inline in prompts
Agent model	Multi-agent (9 roles)	Multi-agent	Single-agent	Multi-agent (individual files)
Sprint command	Full orchestration	Full orchestration	Not available	Not available

Install

pip install pactkit pactkit-copilot

Unlike other adapters, pactkit-copilot is a separate package (not bundled in core) because Copilot's project-level deployment model is fundamentally different from the user-level model used by other IDEs.

Usage: Two-Step Bootstrap

Copilot projects require a two-step initialization — first in the terminal, then in the IDE:

Step 1: Terminal — Deploy infrastructure

cd your-project
pactkit init --format copilot

This creates the .github/ structure:

Path	Contents
`.github/skills/{name}/SKILL.md`	10 skills (3 scripted + 7 prompt-only)
`.github/agents/{name}.md`	9 agent definitions (individual files)
`.github/prompts/{name}.prompt.md`	10 slash commands (PDCA entry points)
`.github/copilot-instructions.md`	Project-level instructions with PDCA routing
`.github/copilot-instructions.local.md`	Your custom overrides (never overwritten)
`.github/pactkit.yaml`	Project config

Step 2: IDE — Initialize PDCA

Open the project in your Copilot-enabled IDE, then use:

/project-init

This creates the governance structure (docs/specs/, docs/product/sprint_board.md, etc.), same as other IDEs.

Do not skip Step 1. Unlike other IDEs where /project-init works immediately after a one-time pactkit init, Copilot requires the .github/ infrastructure to be deployed first via pactkit init --format copilot in every new project.

Update

cd your-project
pip install --upgrade pactkit pactkit-copilot
pactkit update

Update regenerates all managed files in .github/ while preserving:

.github/copilot-instructions.local.md (your custom instructions)
.github/pactkit.yaml (your project config)

MCP Server Setup

Copilot supports MCP servers via .vscode/mcp.json. PactKit recommends 5 verified servers (Playwright, Chrome DevTools, Memory, Draw.io, Context7) for browser testing, persistent memory, and documentation lookup.

See MCP Integration — GitHub Copilot Configuration for the full setup guide with verified npm packages.

Key Differences from Other IDEs

No `@include` for Rules

Copilot does not support @include or @import directives. PactKit handles this by inlining rules directly into each command prompt file (.github/prompts/*.prompt.md).

Two strategies are available (configured in pactkit.yaml):

Strategy	`copilot-instructions.md`	Command prompts	Token cost
`minimal-core` (default)	Routing table only	Full rules inlined per command	Lower per-turn
`full-inline`	All core rules merged	Additional rules per command	Higher baseline

# pactkit.yaml
copilot_rules_strategy: minimal-core  # or full-inline

Slash Commands as `.prompt.md`

Copilot uses .prompt.md files in .github/prompts/ for slash commands. Each file becomes a /command-name in the Copilot chat:

.github/prompts/
  project-plan.prompt.md    → /project-plan
  project-act.prompt.md     → /project-act
  project-check.prompt.md   → /project-check
  project-done.prompt.md    → /project-done
  ...

Multi-Agent via Individual Files

Unlike Codex CLI (single AGENTS.md), Copilot supports multi-agent via individual files in .github/agents/:

.github/agents/
  senior-developer.md
  system-architect.md
  qa-engineer.md
  repo-maintainer.md
  ...

Each agent file includes Copilot-compatible frontmatter (name, description, tools).

Brand Replacement

All Claude/Anthropic references are automatically replaced:

Original	Replaced
Claude Code	GitHub Copilot
Anthropic	GitHub
`claude-sonnet-*`	`capable-model`
`~/.claude/`	`.github/`

Excluded Commands

/project-sprint is excluded from Copilot deployment — it requires multi-agent orchestration capabilities that Copilot does not fully support.

Version Control

The .github/ directory is meant to be committed and shared with your team:

git add .github/
git commit -m "feat: add PactKit Copilot configuration"

This means teammates get the full PactKit governance structure without running pactkit init themselves — they only need to run /project-init in their IDE.

pip install pactkit-copilot

Rules not loading

Copilot doesn't support @include. Check that copilot_rules_strategy in pactkit.yaml is set correctly, and that command prompt files contain inlined rules sections.