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GitHub Copilot Skills

Copilot reads .github/skills/ in a repository and ~/.copilot/skills/ on your machine, plus the shared and Claude folders. 104 ready-made Skills for video, images, web pages and slides.

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~/.copilot/skills/
└── ours-dot-field-modes/
    ├── SKILL.md
    └── …
Supported folders depend on where Copilot runs. A personal Skill on your machine doesn’t reach Copilot in the cloud.

Where GitHub Copilot looks for Skills

Personal folder
~/.copilot/skills/ or ~/.agents/skills/
Project folder
.github/skills/, .claude/skills/ or .agents/skills/
Also
Works in the Copilot app, Copilot CLI, cloud agent and code review, and agent mode in VS Code, Visual Studio and JetBrains
Call a Skill
Ask for the result; Copilot picks the Skill from your prompt and its description
Check it loaded
In Copilot CLI, run /skills list or /skills info <skill>
After you add one
In Copilot CLI, run /skills reload instead of restarting
Format
SKILL.md folders (the Agent Skills format)

From GitHub Docs: Adding agent skills for Copilot CLI (opens in a new tab) and GitHub Docs: Agent skills (opens in a new tab), read 2026-11-04.

Skills to try in GitHub Copilot

Each one is a plain SKILL.md folder, the format GitHub Copilot reads. Skills that make images or video call FAL with your own key, so your agent needs to be allowed to run terminal commands.

  • FreeVideo

    Dot Field Modes

    An 11.5-second light demo: a selector steps through six named modes while a field of dots reacts to each one, then your closing line lands.

  • FreeVideo

    Dust Erase

    A 7-second light explainer: a record full of personal details is scanned, flagged, then crumbles to dust before your payoff and result appear.

  • PremiumImage

    A24 Style OG Image

    Bright share cards with stacked black and white goods on the left and one giant black word cut off at the right edge. GPT Image 2 via FAL.

    $4.99 or with Premium

  • PremiumImage

    Airbnb Style OG Image

    Bright share cards with tiny ink-drawn isometric land tiles of cabins, lakes and forests around open white space. GPT Image 2 via FAL.

    $4.99 or with Premium

  • FreeWeb pages

    Poster Designer Portfolio

    A printed-sheet portfolio for a poster or print designer, 14 pages: grey grid paper, a one-word display title beside a cut-out portrait, eight posters with live type, project pages and a brief form.

  • FreeWeb pages

    Pet Store

    A one-file pet-supply store with 39 routes: live-count filters, a page per product, refill planner, bed chooser, wishlist, bag and demo checkout.

  • FreeSlides

    Contour Playbook Deck

    A nine-page team playbook on ice-blue and navy pages with soft background shapes: routines, handovers, phrases to use and quality checks.

  • FreeSlides

    Curve Profile Deck

    A friendly ten-page company or studio profile in steel blue and white, with photos in curved frames, soft rounded cards and a few large figures.

See all 104 Skills

How to add a Skill to GitHub Copilot

Get the Skill’s ZIP from its card once downloads open, then:

  1. Unzip the Skill so its folder sits at ~/.copilot/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md, or at .github/skills/<skill>/ in a repository.
  2. In Copilot CLI, run /skills reload (or start a new session).
  3. Run /skills info <skill> to check it loaded and where from.
  4. Ask for the result. Copilot decides when to use the Skill from your prompt.

Good to know

  • Cloud sessions need your dotfiles. To use personal Skills in Copilot cloud sandbox sessions, put them in .copilot/skills in your dotfiles repository. This doesn’t apply to GitHub Actions-based sessions.
  • Think before pre-approving shell. GitHub warns that pre-approving shell or bash for a Skill removes the confirmation before terminal commands. Several of our Skills run scripts, so leave the prompt on unless you have read them.
  • Manage Skills from the terminal. copilot skill list, add, disable and enable do the same as the /skills commands, before a session starts.

Copilot Skills vs custom instructions

GitHub recommends custom instructions for short rules that apply to almost every task, such as coding standards, and Skills for detailed instructions Copilot should read only when they are relevant.

FAQ

GitHub Copilot Skills: questions

Where do GitHub Copilot skills go?

Project Skills go in .github/skills/, .claude/skills/ or .agents/skills/ in the repository. Personal Skills go in ~/.copilot/skills/ or ~/.agents/skills/ in your home folder. Source (opens in a new tab)

Which Copilot surfaces use Skills?

GitHub lists the Copilot app, Copilot CLI, Copilot cloud agent and code review on GitHub.com, and agent mode in VS Code, Visual Studio and JetBrains IDEs. IDE support depends on the version. Source (opens in a new tab)

I added a Skill during a CLI session. Do I restart?

No. Run /skills reload, then /skills info <skill> to confirm it loaded. Source (opens in a new tab)

Can I install Skills from GitHub?

GitHub CLI’s gh skill command searches for, installs and updates Skills from GitHub repositories. Our Skills come as a ZIP you unzip into a Skills folder. Source (opens in a new tab)

Skills for the other agents you use

Every Premium Skill, one plan.

$9.99 / month · $79 / year · $169 once, or $4.99 for one Skill.

See pricing