Visual Studio Code hosts James Montemagno, Harald Kirschner, and Tim Rogers to discuss Agent Skills (Skills.md) in GitHub Copilot. The video explores how developers can expand Copilot’s functionality in VS Code through custom agent skills.

Agent Skills (Skills.md) in GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio Code

Agent Skills, formalized in the Skills.md format, let developers define collections of instructions, scripts, and resources that extend the capabilities of AI agents, including GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code. This video explains how these skills help Copilot perform specialized tasks tailored to developer needs.

What are Agent Skills?

• Agent Skills: Folders containing Skills.md files and supporting resources
• Purpose: Enable AI agents to access, interpret, and execute custom instructions
• Standard: Works across multiple tools, including GitHub Copilot (VS Code, CLI, Coding agent)

How Agent Skills Work in VS Code

• Create a folder structure containing instructions/scripts relevant for repetitive or specialized workflows
• Copilot loads and uses these instructions to inform its completions and suggestions
• Developers can efficiently tailor Copilot's suggestions to fit project or organization-specific best practices

Interoperability

• The Agent Skills open standard enables reusing the same skills with:
  • GitHub Copilot in VS Code
  • GitHub Copilot CLI
  • Copilot Coding Agent

Getting Started

• Documentation: Agent Skills in VS Code
• More info: agentskills.io

Featured Speakers

• James Montemagno
• Harald Kirschner
• Tim Rogers

Why Use Agent Skills?

• Extend Copilot and integrate team or personal workflows
• Standardize task automation within AI-driven development environments
• Share skills between environments and agents

For more technical details and examples, visit the official docs.