Context Prime

Why This is Copilot-Exclusive

Copilot CLI reads .github/copilot-instructions.md automatically on every session start. This skill layers additional context loading on top of that — fetching live project state (recent commits, file structure, test status) that static instructions can't capture.

When to Use

• At the start of any session before making changes to an unfamiliar codebase
• When resuming work after a long break (branch has moved, dependencies changed)
• Before running a large autopilot or fleet task — ensure the AI has full context
• When onboarding a new contributor — demonstrate the project structure interactively

Workflow

1. Read Project Identity

# Core identity files
Get-Content README.md | Select-Object -First 60

# Project instructions (Copilot reads this automatically, but re-surface it)
if (Test-Path .github/copilot-instructions.md) {
    Get-Content .github/copilot-instructions.md
}

2. Understand the File Structure

# List tracked files (respects .gitignore automatically)
git ls-files | Select-Object -First 100

# Or filtered by extension for a focused view
git ls-files | Where-Object { $_ -match '\.(ts|js|py|go|cs)$' } | Select-Object -First 80

# Top-level structure
Get-ChildItem -Depth 1 | Where-Object { $_.Name -notmatch '^\.' } |
  Select-Object Name, PSIsContainer | Format-Table

If you use /add-dir to expose an extra directory tree, you generally do not need to keep re-adding it during the session. Those added directories now persist across turns, which makes context priming less fragile when the task spans multiple exchanges.

3. Understand the Tech Stack

# Node.js
if (Test-Path package.json) {
    $pkg = Get-Content package.json | ConvertFrom-Json
    Write-Host "Project: $($pkg.name) v$($pkg.version)"
    Write-Host "Scripts: $($pkg.scripts.PSObject.Properties.Name -join ', ')"
    Write-Host "Key deps: $($pkg.dependencies.PSObject.Properties.Name -join ', ')"
}

# Python
if (Test-Path pyproject.toml) { Get-Content pyproject.toml | Select-Object -First 30 }

# .NET
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.csproj" | Select-Object -First 3 | Get-Content

4. Get Current Development Context

# What branch and recent activity
git --no-pager log --oneline -5
git --no-pager status --short

# Any open issues or PRs being worked on (Copilot MCP)
# Tool: github-mcp-server-list_issues  owner: ... repo: ... state: OPEN

5. Check Test and Build State (Optional)

# Quick test status without full run
npm test -- --passWithNoTests 2>&1 | Select-Object -Last 5

# Or just see what test command exists
if (Test-Path package.json) {
    (Get-Content package.json | ConvertFrom-Json).scripts
}

Context Degradation Signals

Long sessions can slowly lose coherence. Re-prime when you notice:

• Repeated questions about decisions that were already made
• Reintroduction of bugs or patterns that were already corrected
• New code drifting away from local conventions established earlier in the task
• Responses that suddenly assume conflicting project facts

If degradation shows up:

1. Re-run this skill and reload live project state
2. Save a short checkpoint of the goal, decisions, and open risks
3. Start a fresh session if the context window is clearly fighting you

Example Session Start Prompt

> Prime context for this session:
> 1. Read README.md (first 50 lines)
> 2. List all tracked source files
> 3. Show the last 5 commits
> 4. Identify the tech stack from package.json / pyproject.toml
> 5. Summarize what this project does in 2-3 sentences

Copilot will run these steps and give you a compact project brief before you start working.

Quick Variant (One-liner prompt)

> Read README.md, list git ls-files output, and show me the last 3 commits.
> Then tell me: what does this project do, what stack is it using, and what was last worked on?

Tips

• Run this before autopilot tasks: A well-primed session means fewer mid-task surprises
• Include domain context: If the project has a docs/ or ARCHITECTURE.md, include it
• .github/copilot-instructions.md is your long-term context: Use this skill for session-specific context (current branch state, open issues)
• After a long break: Always re-prime — the [Unreleased] CHANGELOG section and recent commits tell you where things stand

See Also

• sprint-workflow — full sprint starting with context prime
• github-issue-triage — load current open issues as context
• Inspired by: awesome-claude-code/resources/slash-commands/context-prime