EPS Copilot Instructions

This repository contains the shared GitHub Copilot instruction files used across EPS repositories, along with a composite GitHub Action that copies those files into a target repository and opens a pull request with the changes.

What this repository contains

• Shared instruction files under .github/instructions
• A shared .github/copilot-instructions.md
• Shared prompts under .github/prompts
• A composite GitHub Action defined in action.yml

Action overview

The action is intended to be called from another repository. It:

1. Checks out the calling repository at the requested base branch
2. Checks out copilot instruction files from copilot_instructions_ref repository at the requested ref
3. Replaces the target repository's Copilot instruction files with the shared versions
4. Creates a signed pull request containing the sync changes

Files synced by the action

The action copies the following paths into the calling repository:

• .github/instructions/general
• .github/instructions/languages
• .github/copilot-instructions.md
• .github/prompts

Existing copies of those paths in the calling repository are removed before the new content is copied in.

Inputs

Input	Required	Default	Description
copilot_instructions_ref	No	main	Git ref to check out from the eps-copilot-instructions repository
calling_repo_base_branch	No	main	Base branch in the calling repository that the pull request should target
CREATE_PULL_REQUEST_APP_ID	Yes	None	GitHub App ID used to generate a token for pull request creation
CREATE_PULL_REQUEST_PEM	Yes	None	GitHub App private key in PEM format

Example usage

name: Sync Copilot Instructions

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 6 * * 1'

permissions: {}

jobs:
  sync-copilot-instructions:
    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
    environment: create_pull_request
    permissions:
      contents: read

    steps:
      - name: Sync shared instructions
        uses: NHSDigital/eps-copilot-instructions@95118f6746ca7081258cc7f651dca1c5bb7339f1
        with:
          copilot_instructions_ref: main
          calling_repo_base_branch: main
          CREATE_PULL_REQUEST_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.CREATE_PULL_REQUEST_APP_ID }}
          CREATE_PULL_REQUEST_PEM: ${{ secrets.CREATE_PULL_REQUEST_PEM }}

Pull request behavior

When changes are detected, the action creates a pull request with:

• Branch prefix: copilot-instructions-sync
• Commit message: Upgrade: [dependabot] - sync Copilot instructions
• Pull request title: Upgrade: [dependabot] - sync Copilot instructions
• Signed commits enabled
• Automatic branch cleanup enabled

The pull request body includes the ref used for the sync.

Prerequisites

Before using the action in a repository, ensure that https://github.com/NHSDigital/electronic-prescription-service-account-resources/blob/main/scripts/set_github_secrets.py has been run to create the environment and secrets

Notes

• The action is implemented as a composite action in action.yml
• It uses pinned action SHAs for its external action dependencies
• The action opens a pull request instead of pushing directly to the base branch