📅 [2026-03-04] Article: Create Your First Custom Copilot Agent (.agent.md)

[csharpfritz]

Publish Date

March 4, 2026 (Wednesday — Week 1)

Article Summary

Beginner-friendly guide to creating custom Copilot agents using .agent.md files. Covers:

• What agents are and how they differ from global instructions and skills
• File structure, YAML frontmatter, and Markdown body
• Step-by-step walkthrough: building a "code-reviewer" agent
• Real-world example from this repository (Squad agent)
• Common agent ideas for teams
• Comparison table: instructions vs. skills vs. agents
• Best practices and next steps

Target Audience: Developers new to Copilot customization

Difficulty: Beginner
Category: GitHub Copilot
Tags: github-copilot, agents, agent-md, customization, getting-started

Frontmatter Preview

---
title: "Create Your First Custom Copilot Agent: Authoring .agent.md Files for Specialized AI Assistants"
description: "Learn how to create custom Copilot agents using .agent.md files. Build specialized AI assistants with defined roles, boundaries, and tools for your team."
category: "GitHub Copilot"
tags: ["github-copilot", "agents", "agent-md", "customization", "getting-started"]
difficulty: "Beginner"
author: "Copilot That Jawn"
publishedDate: "2026-03-04"
lastModified: "2026-03-04"
series: "Copilot Customization"
part: 1
featured: true
---

Series Context

Part 1 of 3: Copilot Customization Series

This foundational article fills a critical gap in .agent.md coverage and establishes the first leg of the Copilot Customization learning path:

• Part 1 (Week 1 Wed): Custom Copilot Agents (.agent.md) — this article
• Part 2: Copilot Instructions (existing reference)
• Part 3: GitHub Copilot Skills (existing reference)

Strategic value: Opens Week 1 with a beginner-accessible, high-interest topic that pairs naturally with existing instructions and skills content. Cross-links drive internal CTR and establish foundational knowledge for readers building tailored Copilot workflows.

Content Highlights

✅ Real example from .github/agents/squad.agent.md (this repo)
✅ Hands-on step-by-step walkthrough (7 steps)
✅ Comparison tables (agents vs. instructions vs. skills)
✅ Common agent templates (7 team examples)
✅ Links to official GitHub Docs and Blog posts
✅ Professional but approachable tone with emoji callouts

[csharpfritz]

🧪 NORM REVIEW: PR #30 - Create Your First Custom Copilot Agent

✅ APPROVED — Ready for publication.

Summary

Excellent foundational article on custom Copilot agents. This is exactly what a Beginner-level guide should be: clear, step-by-step, and immediately actionable.

Strengths

• Perfect learning arc: Explains what agents are, where they live, how to create one, and why they matter
• Real example walkthrough: Code-reviewer agent example is detailed and practical
• Comprehensive reference tables: Frontmatter fields, agent ideas, and feature comparisons are super helpful
• Beginner-appropriate: Simple language without talking down to the reader
• Series context: Part 1 of "Copilot Customization" clearly establishes the learning path

Quality Checklist

✅ Title unique and descriptive
✅ Description concise and accurate
✅ Category correct (GitHub Copilot)
✅ Tags relevant and consistent
✅ Difficulty appropriate (Beginner)
✅ Content technically sound
✅ No Philly Dev Community references
✅ Frontmatter complete and formatted correctly

Minor Note

The "Related reading in this series" section references sibling articles. These paths align with the content calendar, so they're fine as forward references.

No revisions needed. Ready to publish.

[csharpfritz]

🔍 Frasier's Fact-Check Review — PR #30

✅ APPROVED

All technical claims verified. No corrections needed.

Verification Summary:

✅ .agent.md File Format: YAML frontmatter + Markdown body structure confirmed per GitHub's official specification.

✅ Frontmatter Fields: All fields (name, description, target, tools, disable-model-invocation, metadata) verified as valid.

✅ File Locations:

• .github/agents/ — CONFIRMED for repository-scoped agents
• ~/.copilot/agents/ — CONFIRMED for personal/user-scoped agents
• .github-private/agents/ — CONFIRMED for organization-wide agents

✅ Code Examples: All YAML and Markdown examples are syntactically correct.

✅ Agent Comparison Table: Accurately reflects differences between copilot-instructions.md, SKILL.md, and .agent.md.

✅ Real Examples: Reference to "Squad" agent is credible.

✅ Grammar & Spelling: No errors. Writing is clear and technically precise.

✅ Frontmatter: All required fields present and dates align with publish target (2026-03-04).

This article is factually accurate and ready for publication.