getting-started.md

This guide shows you how to configure your project to use HVE Core's GitHub Copilot customizations (chat modes, instructions, and prompts).

Prerequisites

• VS Code with GitHub Copilot extension installed
• Both repositories cloned as siblings on your machine

Directory Structure

Clone both repositories side-by-side:

repos/
├── my-project/
└── hve-core/

cd repos
git clone https://github.com/your-org/my-project.git
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/hve-core.git

cd repos
git clone https://github.com/your-org/my-project.git
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/hve-core.git

Workspace Configuration

Add these settings to your project's .vscode/settings.json:

{
  "chat.promptFilesLocations": {
    "../hve-core/.github/prompts": true
  },
  "chat.instructionsFilesLocations": {
    "../hve-core/.github/instructions": true
  },
  "chat.modeFilesLocations": {
    "../hve-core/.github/chatmodes": true
  }
}

This tells GitHub Copilot to discover customizations from the hve-core repository.

Development Container Setup

If using dev containers, add this mount to your .devcontainer/devcontainer.json:

{
  "mounts": [
    "source=${localWorkspaceFolder}/../hve-core,target=/workspaces/hve-core,type=bind,consistency=cached"
  ]
}

After updating, rebuild the container:

• Press F1 and select Dev Containers: Rebuild Container
• Or run: Remote-Containers: Rebuild Container from the Command Palette

Verifying Setup

Check that everything works:

1. Open GitHub Copilot Chat view (Ctrl+Alt+I)
2. Click the agent picker dropdown at the top of the chat panel
3. Verify custom agents from hve-core appear in the list:
   • task-planner
   • task-researcher
   • prompt-builder
   • pr-review
4. Select an agent and submit a test prompt

Troubleshooting: If custom agents don't appear, verify the chat.modeFilesLocations setting points to the correct path in your workspace settings.

Troubleshooting

Problem: Copilot not discovering hve-core customizations

Solution: Ensure you opened the .code-workspace file, not just the folder. The window title should show the workspace name, and both folders should appear in Explorer.

Next Steps

• Explore Chat Modes for available agents
• Review Instructions for coding guidelines
• Check the README for feature overview

---

🤖 Crafted with precision by ✨Copilot following brilliant human instruction, then carefully refined by our team of discerning human reviewers.