How can I configure GitHub Copilot to respect my team's specific coding conventions in a monorepo with multiple languages?

[sudeep-tech1010]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Copilot in GitHub

Body

How can I configure GitHub Copilot to respect my team's specific coding conventions (like naming patterns and import ordering) in a monorepo with multiple languages? I've tried .github/copilot-instructions.md but it seems inconsistent across TypeScript and Python files. Is there a way to set language-specific instructions or context files?

[Pratham-U-dev]

Hey
Instead of sub-folder instruction files (which Copilot doesn't automatically detect), try this:

Single Instructions File with Language Sections

Place all rules in .github/copilot-instructions.md at the repo root, organized by language:

my-monorepo/
├── .github/
│ └── copilot-instructions.md ← All rules here (organized by language)
├── apps/
│ ├── backend-py/
│ │ └── main.py
│ └── frontend-ts/
│ └── App.tsx

Inside copilot-instructions.md:

# TypeScript Conventions
- PascalCase components
- Absolute imports

# Python Conventions
- PEP 8 compliance
- Ruff/isort for imports

For stricter enforcement, combine with ESLint/Prettier (TS) and Ruff/Black (Python) configs — Copilot reads these and aligns suggestions accordingly.

[Butkii025]

Hey [sudeep-tech1010]
Try this : :

Sub-Folder Instruction Files (Best for Multi-Language Repos)

Instead of jamming everything into the root .github folder, break your instructions down by your monorepo's service or package boundaries.

You can place localized .copilot-instructions.md (or .github/copilot-instructions.md inside specific workspace roots if using advanced features) right alongside your code : :

my-monorepo/
├── .github/
│ └── copilot-instructions.md <-- Global/Shared rules (e.g., git commit styles, PR rules)
├── apps/
│ ├── backend-py/
│ │ ├── .copilot-instructions.md <-- Python specific rules (PEP 8, Ruff/isort, naming)
│ │ └── main.py
│ └── frontend-ts/
│ ├── .copilot-instructions.md <-- TypeScript specific rules (PascalCase components, absolute imports)
│ └── App.tsx