A PowerShell toolkit to sync, install, and manage GitHub Copilot agents, instructions, hooks, skills, and workflows from the awesome-copilot community catalogue — cherry-picking exactly what each repo needs, with full lifecycle management. Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Syncs the latest agents, instructions, hooks, workflows, and skills from awesome-copilot into a local cache (
~/.awesome-copilot/) - Initialises repos — intelligently recommends and installs resources into a repo's
.github/folder based on detected language/framework, with full install/update/remove lifecycle management
| Resource | Location |
|---|---|
| Agents | .github/agents/ |
| Instructions | .github/instructions/ |
| Hooks | .github/hooks/<name>/ |
| Workflows | .github/workflows/ |
| Skills | .github/skills/ |
- PowerShell 7+ — runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux (Download PowerShell)
- VS Code with GitHub Copilot extension
gh(GitHub CLI) orgit—ghpreferred (Download GitHub CLI); handles auth automatically- Internet connection for initial sync
macOS / Linux: the scripts are compatible with
pwshon all platforms. The one difference is the VS Code user directory path — pass-PromptsDirexplicitly ifinit-user.ps1cannot locate it automatically:
Platform -PromptsDirvaluemacOS ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/promptsLinux ~/.config/Code/User/prompts
Out-GridViewis also Windows-only; the scripts fall back to a numbered console menu automatically on macOS and Linux.
git clone <your-repo-url>
cd vscode-copilot-sync# Sync from GitHub and optionally configure your current repo
.\configure.ps1
# Sync + go straight to install pickers (no Y/N prompt)
.\configure.ps1 -Install
# Sync only (no repo setup)
.\configure.ps1 -SkipInit
# Preview everything without writing any files
.\configure.ps1 -DryRunRun from inside any repo to add agents, instructions, hooks, workflows and skills to .github/:
cd C:\Projects\my-app
.\configure.ps1
# Or target a repo without cd-ing first
.\configure.ps1 -SkipSync -RepoPath "C:\Projects\my-app"
# Or call the script directly
.\scripts\init-repo.ps1
.\scripts\init-repo.ps1 -RepoPath "C:\Projects\my-app"The picker auto-detects your language/framework and marks relevant items with ★. Items already installed show their status:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ★ | Recommended for this repo |
[*] |
Already installed |
[↑] |
Update available from upstream |
[~] |
Locally modified since install |
[U] |
Already installed at user level (globally) |
[!] |
Requires additional setup (MCP server, API key, etc.) |
Tip:
[U]items are already available everywhere viainit-user.ps1. You can still install them repo-level if you want them committed to.github/.
# Remove resources from the current repo's .github/ only
.\configure.ps1 -Uninstall repo
# Remove user-level resources (prompts dir + skills dir)
.\configure.ps1 -Uninstall user
# Remove both repo and user-level resources in one pass
.\configure.ps1 -Uninstall both
# Or target a sub-script directly
.\scripts\init-repo.ps1 -Uninstall
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -UninstallLocally modified files are flagged with [~] before removal so you don't accidentally discard work.
~/.awesome-copilot/
├── .git/ # Git metadata (managed automatically)
├── agents/ # *.agent.md
├── instructions/ # *.instructions.md
├── workflows/ # *.md
├── hooks/ # <hook-name>/ directories
├── skills/ # <skill-name>/ directories
└── manifest.json # Sync state (hashes, timestamps, counts)
Run this once after cloning the repo on a new machine. It syncs the cache, installs your preferred general-purpose resources globally, then sets up whichever repo you are currently working in.
# 1. Sync the awesome-copilot cache
.\scripts\sync-awesome-copilot.ps1
# 2. Install agents, instructions, and skills you want active in every VS Code window
.\scripts\init-user.ps1
# 3. Configure the repo you are currently working in
.\scripts\init-repo.ps1After this, user-level resources are always active. Repo-level resources are committed to .github/ and available to the whole team.
Run from inside any repo — or pass -RepoPath from anywhere. Language and framework are auto-detected; relevant items are pre-marked with ★.
# From inside the repo
cd C:\Projects\my-app
.\path\to\vscode-copilot-sync\configure.ps1 -Install
# Or target it directly without cd-ing
.\configure.ps1 -Install -RepoPath "C:\Projects\my-app"
# Preview first without writing anything
.\configure.ps1 -Install -DryRun -RepoPath "C:\Projects\my-app"-Install skips the "do you want to configure a repo?" prompt and goes straight to the pickers.
User-level resources (installed via init-user.ps1) are available in every VS Code window automatically — no .github/ commit needed. Repo-level resources are scoped to a single project and are committed for the whole team.
A practical split:
Use init-user.ps1 for |
Use init-repo.ps1 for |
|---|---|
| General coding standards (security, accessibility, performance) | Framework-specific agents (e.g. angular-expert, dotnet-expert) |
Cross-cutting skills (refactor, create-readme) |
Project-specific hooks and workflows |
| Resources you always want, regardless of project | Resources the whole team should have in their repo |
Items already installed at user level are shown with [U] in the repo picker — you can still install them repo-level if you want them committed, but it is not required.
Run this whenever you want to pull the latest upstream changes for both user-level and repo-level subscriptions.
# 1. Pull the latest from awesome-copilot into the local cache
.\scripts\sync-awesome-copilot.ps1
# 2. Update user-level resources (agents, instructions, skills in %APPDATA% / ~/.copilot)
.\scripts\update-user.ps1
# 3. Update repo-level resources in the current repo
.\scripts\update-repo.ps1
# Or do all three non-interactively
.\scripts\sync-awesome-copilot.ps1
.\scripts\update-user.ps1 -Force
.\scripts\update-repo.ps1 -Forceupdate-repo.ps1 reads .github/.copilot-subscriptions.json; update-user.ps1 reads ~/.awesome-copilot/user-subscriptions.json. Only items you have previously installed are touched — nothing is added automatically.
Chains sync → user-level → repo init in one command.
.\configure.ps1 # Full run (sync + both prompts)
.\configure.ps1 -Install # Sync + go straight to repo pickers
.\configure.ps1 -User # Sync + go straight to user-level picker
.\configure.ps1 -SkipInit # Sync + user-level only
.\configure.ps1 -SkipUser # Sync + repo only
.\configure.ps1 -SkipSync # Repo init only (no sync)
.\configure.ps1 -Uninstall repo # Remove repo .github/ resources
.\configure.ps1 -Uninstall user # Remove user-level resources
.\configure.ps1 -Uninstall both # Remove both in one pass
.\configure.ps1 -RepoPath "C:\Projects\my-app" # Target specific repo
.\configure.ps1 -DryRun # Preview all changesClones (first run) or pulls (subsequent runs) github/awesome-copilot as a sparse git checkout.
- Only downloads the categories you need (
agents,instructions,workflows,hooks,skillsby default) - SHA256 hash manifest tracks added/updated/removed counts across runs
- Auto-recovers from merge conflicts in the local cache
- Prefers
ghCLI for auth; falls back togit
.\scripts\sync-awesome-copilot.ps1 # Sync all categories
.\scripts\sync-awesome-copilot.ps1 -Plan # Dry run
.\scripts\sync-awesome-copilot.ps1 -Categories "agents,instructions"
.\scripts\sync-awesome-copilot.ps1 -GitTool git # Force git
.\scripts\sync-awesome-copilot.ps1 -Force # Skip safety checksBreaking-change detection — on subsequent syncs the script runs two safety checks and exits before writing the manifest if either triggers:
| Check | Trigger | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Structural | A previously-synced category folder is absent after pull | STRUCTURAL CHANGE DETECTED — lists missing folders, exits 1 |
| Mass-removal | ≥ 25 % of tracked files removed in one pull | MASS-REMOVAL DETECTED — shows ratio, exits 1 |
Re-run with -Force once you have reviewed the upstream changes and confirmed the new structure is intentional.
Interactively selects and installs Copilot resources into .github/.
Smart recommendations — scans repo files for language/framework signals (.cs, package.json, go.mod, Dockerfile, .github/workflows/*.yml, etc.) and pre-marks relevant items with ★. Falls back to an intent questionnaire for empty repos.
Full lifecycle — install, update, and remove, all tracked in .github/.copilot-subscriptions.json.
.\scripts\init-repo.ps1 # Interactive
.\scripts\init-repo.ps1 -RepoPath "C:\Projects\my-app"
.\scripts\init-repo.ps1 -DryRun # Preview
.\scripts\init-repo.ps1 -Uninstall # Remove resources
.\scripts\init-repo.ps1 -SkipHooks -SkipWorkflows # Skip categories
.\scripts\init-repo.ps1 -Agents "devops-expert,se-security-reviewer" -Instructions "powershell"Reads .github/.copilot-subscriptions.json and applies any upstream changes from the local cache to installed resources.
.\scripts\update-repo.ps1 # Interactive — prompts per item
.\scripts\update-repo.ps1 -DryRun # Show what would change
.\scripts\update-repo.ps1 -Force # Apply all without prompting
.\scripts\update-repo.ps1 -RepoPath "C:\Projects\my-app"Tip: The
[↑]column ininit-repo.ps1shows update availability inline — runupdate-repo.ps1when you want to apply them all at once.
Installs agents, instructions, and skills into user-level locations, making them available across all repos and VS Code windows — no .github/ needed.
| Resource | Location |
|---|---|
| Agents | %APPDATA%\Code\User\prompts\*.agent.md |
| Instructions | %APPDATA%\Code\User\prompts\*.instructions.md |
| Skills | ~/.copilot/skills/<name>/ |
This is ideal for general-purpose, tech-agnostic resources you always want active (e.g. security standards, accessibility guidelines, cross-cutting agents). Tech-specific items are still available in the picker but not pre-starred.
Full lifecycle — install, update, and remove, tracked in ~/.awesome-copilot/user-subscriptions.json.
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 # Interactive (agents + instructions + skills)
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -DryRun # Preview
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -Uninstall # Remove user-level resources
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -Bootstrap # Register already-installed files (no picker, no copies)
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -Bootstrap -DryRun # Preview what bootstrap would register
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -SkipSkills # Agents + instructions only
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -SkipAgents -SkipInstructions # Skills only
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -Agents "beastmode,se-security-reviewer"
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -Instructions "security-and-owasp,markdown-accessibility"
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -Skills "refactor,create-readme"
# Non-default VS Code installations
.\scripts\init-user.ps1 -PromptsDir "$env:APPDATA\Code - Insiders\User\prompts"
-Bootstrapis useful whenuser-subscriptions.jsonis missing but resources are already on disk — for example after upgrading from v1.x or after manually copying files from the cache. It registers them all as subscriptions soupdate-user.ps1can track and update them without requiring a full reinstall through the picker.
Reads ~/.awesome-copilot/user-subscriptions.json and refreshes installed user-level agents, instructions, and skills from the local cache.
.\scripts\update-user.ps1 # Interactive
.\scripts\update-user.ps1 -DryRun # Show what would change
.\scripts\update-user.ps1 -Force # Apply all without prompting
.\scripts\update-user.ps1 -SkillsDir "~/custom/skills" # Non-default skills locationgh CLI is preferred — inherits from gh auth login, no extra setup. If only git is available, the public github/awesome-copilot repo requires no credentials. For private forks, configure git credentials as usual.
Edit two variables near the top of scripts/sync-awesome-copilot.ps1:
$RepoSlug = 'your-username/your-fork'
$RepoUrl = 'https://github.com/your-username/your-fork.git'Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUserThis is a Windows-only restriction. macOS and Linux are unaffected.
The script auto-recovers (git reset --hard origin/HEAD). If it persists, delete ~/.awesome-copilot and re-run — it will re-clone fresh.
Sync logs are written to scripts/logs/sync-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.log:
Get-ChildItem .\scripts\logs\sync-*.log | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 1 | Get-ContentWhat is awesome-copilot? awesome-copilot is the community-maintained catalogue of GitHub Copilot resources — agents, instructions, skills, hooks, and workflows contributed by hundreds of developers. vscode-copilot-sync makes it easy to cherry-pick and manage resources from that catalogue.
Does vscode-copilot-sync work on macOS and Linux?
Yes. All scripts run on PowerShell 7+ (pwsh), which is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The only Windows-specific feature is Out-GridView; on other platforms the scripts fall back to a numbered console menu automatically.
Will it overwrite files I've written myself?
No. The scripts only track and manage files they installed, recorded in .github/.copilot-subscriptions.json. User-created files are never touched. Locally modified files are flagged with [~] and require explicit confirmation before any update.
Do I need a GitHub account?
No account is needed to sync from the public awesome-copilot repository. The scripts use gh CLI if available but fall back to unauthenticated git for the public source.
How is this different from VS Code's built-in Settings Sync? VS Code Settings Sync backs up editor settings and extensions. vscode-copilot-sync manages Copilot-specific resources (agents, instructions, skills) from the community catalogue — content that Settings Sync does not cover.
How often should I run the sync?
Run .\configure.ps1 whenever you want to pull upstream additions. There is no scheduled sync — you decide when to update.
| Project | Description |
|---|---|
| Symdicate | Composable multi-agent framework for GitHub Copilot — persona grafting, cognitive identity caching, and agent fusion |
| ReFrame | GitHub Copilot agent for PC game configuration optimisation — detects hardware and recommends targeted performance improvements |
| awesome-copilot | The community catalogue that vscode-copilot-sync syncs from |
Contributions welcome! Fork, branch, test, PR.
MIT — see LICENSE
- awesome-copilot — Community resource repository
- GitHub Copilot — AI pair programmer
Made with ❤️ for the VS Code + Copilot community