When generative AI tools guess what you need, the magic only lasts as long as the guesses are right. Add an unfamiliar codebase, a security checklist your team keeps in a wiki, or a one‑off Slack thread that explains why something matters, and even the most and even the most powerful model may fill in gaps with assumptions rather than having access to your specific context and knowledge.
GitHub Copilot Spaces fixes that problem by letting you bundle the exact context Copilot should read—code, docs, transcripts, sample queries, you name it—into a reusable “space.” Once a space is created, every Copilot chat, completion, or command is grounded in that curated knowledge, producing answers that feel like they came from your organization’s resident expert instead of a generic model.
In this article, we’ll walk through:
- A 5‑minute quick‑start guide to creating your first space
- Tips for personalizing Copilot’s tone, style, and conventions with custom instructions
- Real‑world recipes for accessibility, data queries, and onboarding
- Collaboration, security, and what’s next on the roadmap (spoiler: IDE integration and Issues/PR support)
Why context is the new bottleneck for AI‑assisted development
Large language models (LLMs) thrive on patterns, but day‑to‑day engineering work is full of unpatterned edge cases, including:
- A monorepo that mixes modern React with legacy jQuery
- Organizational wisdom buried in Slack threads or internal wikis
- Organization‑specific security guidelines that differ from upstream OSS docs
Without that context, an AI assistant can only guess. But with Copilot Spaces, you choose which files, documents, or free‑text snippets matter, drop them into a space, and let Copilot use that context to answer questions or write code. As Kelly Henckel, PM for GitHub Spaces, said in our GitHub Checkout episode, “Spaces make it easy to organize and share context, so Copilot acts like a subject matter expert.” The result? Fewer wrong guesses, less copy-pasting, and code that’s commit-ready.
What exactly is a Copilot Space?
Think of a space as a secure, shareable container of knowledge plus behavioral instructions:
| What it holds | Why it matters | |
|---|---|---|
| Attachments | Code files, entire folders, Markdown docs, transcripts, or any plain text you add | Gives Copilot the ground truth for answers |
| Custom instructions | Short system prompts to set tone, coding style, or reviewer expectations | Lets Copilot match your house rules |
| Sharing & permissions | Follows the same role/visibility model you already use on GitHub | No new access control lists to manage |
| Live updates | Files stay in sync with the branch you referenced | Your space stays up to date with your codebase |
Spaces are available to anyone with a Copilot license (Free, Individual, Business, or Enterprise) while the feature is in public preview. Admins can enable it under Settings > Copilot > Preview features.
TL;DR: A space is like pinning your team’s collective brain to the Copilot sidebar and letting everyone query it in plain language.
Quick-start guide: How to build your first space in 5 minutes
- Navigate to github.com/copilot/spaces and click Create space.
- Name it clearly. For example,
frontend‑styleguide. - Add a description so teammates know when—and when not—to use it.
- Attach context:
- From repos: Pull in folders like
src/componentsor individual files such aseslint.config.js. - Free‑text hack: Paste a Slack thread, video transcript, onboarding checklist, or even a JSON schema into the Text tab. Copilot treats it like any other attachment.
- Write custom instructions. A sentence or two is enough:
- “Respond as a senior React reviewer. Enforce our ESLint rules and tailwind class naming conventions.”
- Save and test it. You’re done. Ask Copilot a question in the Space chat—e.g., “Refactor this
<Button>component to match our accessibility checklist”—and watch it cite files you just attached.
Personalize Copilot’s coding style (and voice, too)
Custom instructions are the “personality layer” of a space and where spaces shine because they live alongside the attachments. This allows you to do powerful things with a single sentence, including:
- Enforce conventions
- “Always prefer Vue 3
script setupsyntax and Composition API for examples.”
- “Always prefer Vue 3
- Adopt a team tone
- “Answer concisely. Include a one‑line summary before code blocks.”
- Teach Copilot project‑specific vocabulary
- “Call it ‘scenario ID’ (SCID), not test case ID.”
During the GitHub Checkout interview, Kelly shared how she built a personal space for a nonprofit side project: She attached only the Vue front‑end folder plus instructions on her preferred conventions, and Copilot delivered commit‑ready code snippets that matched her style guide on the first try.
Automate your workflow: three real‑world recipes
1. Accessibility compliance assistant
Space ingredients
- Markdown docs on WCAG criteria and GitHub’s internal “Definition of Done”
- Custom instruction: “When answering, cite the doc section and provide a code diff if changes are required.”
How it helps: Instead of pinging the accessibility lead on Slack, you can use Spaces to ask questions like “What steps are needed for MAS‑C compliance on this new modal?” Copilot summarizes the relevant checkpoints, references the doc anchor, and even suggests ARIA attributes or color‑contrast fixes. GitHub’s own accessibility SME, Katherine, pinned this space in Slack so anyone filing a review gets instant, self‑service guidance.
2. Data‑query helper for complex schemas
Space ingredients
- YAML schema files for 40+ event tables
- Example KQL snippets saved as
.sqlfiles - Instruction: “Generate KQL only, no prose explanations unless asked.”
How it helps: Product managers and support engineers who don’t know your database structures can ask, “Average PR review time last 7 days?” Copilot autocompletes a valid KQL query with correct joins and lets them iterate. Result: lets PMs and support self-serve without bugging data science teams.
3. Onboarding Hub and knowledge base in one link
Space ingredients
- Key architecture diagrams exported as SVG text
- ADRs and design docs from multiple repos
- Custom instruction: “Answer like a mentor during onboarding; link to deeper docs.”
How it helps: New hires type “How does our auth flow handle SAML?” and get a structured answer with links and diagrams, all without leaving GitHub. Because spaces stay in sync with main, updates to ADRs propagate automatically—no stale wikis.
Collaboration that feels native to GitHub
Spaces respect the same permission model you already use:
- Personal spaces: visible only to you unless shared
- Organization‑owned spaces: use repo or team permissions to gate access
- Read‑only vs. edit‑capable: let SMEs maintain the canon while everyone else consumes
Sharing is as simple as sending the space URL or pinning it to a repo README. Anyone with access and a Copilot license can start chatting instantly.
What’s next for Copilot Spaces?
We’re working to bring Copilot Spaces to more of your workflows, and are currently developing:
- Issues and PR attachments to bring inline discussions and review notes into the same context bundle.
- IDE Integration: Query Spaces in VS Code for tasks like writing tests to match your team’s patterns.
- Org‑wide discoverability to help you browse spaces like you browse repos today, so new engineers can search “Payments SME” and start chatting.
Your feedback will shape those priorities. Drop your ideas or pain points in the public discussion or, if you’re an enterprise customer, through your account team.
Get started today
Head to github.com/copilot/spaces, spin up your first space, and let us know how it streamlines your workflow. Here’s how to get it fully set up on your end:
- Flip the preview toggle: Settings > Copilot > Preview features > Enable Copilot Spaces.
- Create one small, high‑impact space—maybe your team’s code‑review checklist or a set of common data queries.
- Share the link in Slack or a README and watch the pings to subject‑matter experts drop.
- Iterate: prune unused attachments, refine instructions, or split a giant space into smaller ones.
Copilot Spaces is free during the public preview and doesn’t count against your Copilot seat entitlements when you use the base model. We can’t wait to see what you build when Copilot has the right context at its fingertips.
The post GitHub Copilot Spaces: Bring the right context to every suggestion appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
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