Copilot CLI currently discovers shared user-level artifacts from fixed locations such as:
This is useful as a cross-tool default, but there is no supported way to relocate that discovery root for managed or XDG-style profile layouts.
COPILOT_CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS only adds instruction directories. It does not provide equivalent discovery overrides for:
- Agents
- Skills
- Hooks
- Shared manifests or related metadata
COPILOT_HOME is not an appropriate substitute because it relocates broader Copilot application state, including sessions, databases, packages, caches, and lock files.
Requested behavior
Provide one or more documented environment variables or configuration settings for additional user-level discovery roots.
For example:
COPILOT_AGENT_DIRS
COPILOT_SKILL_DIRS
COPILOT_HOOK_DIRS
COPILOT_CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS
Alternatively, support a unified root:
COPILOT_USER_CONFIG_DIR=C:\Users\<user>\.config\agents
with documented subdirectories:
agents\
skills\
hooks\
instructions\
Compatibility
The existing %USERPROFILE%\.agents location should remain a default discovery path. Configured paths should augment or override it through clearly documented precedence rules.
This would preserve the .agents interoperability convention while allowing:
- Enterprise-managed profile layouts
- XDG-style configuration separation
- Portable development environments
- Machines where the profile root should remain free of tool-owned directories
Related issues
This request is complementary to #4204: that issue proposes broader .agents discovery, while this issue requests a supported way to configure where that user-level discovery tree lives.
Copilot CLI currently discovers shared user-level artifacts from fixed locations such as:
This is useful as a cross-tool default, but there is no supported way to relocate that discovery root for managed or XDG-style profile layouts.
COPILOT_CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRSonly adds instruction directories. It does not provide equivalent discovery overrides for:COPILOT_HOMEis not an appropriate substitute because it relocates broader Copilot application state, including sessions, databases, packages, caches, and lock files.Requested behavior
Provide one or more documented environment variables or configuration settings for additional user-level discovery roots.
For example:
Alternatively, support a unified root:
with documented subdirectories:
Compatibility
The existing
%USERPROFILE%\.agentslocation should remain a default discovery path. Configured paths should augment or override it through clearly documented precedence rules.This would preserve the
.agentsinteroperability convention while allowing:Related issues
XDG_CONFIG_HOMEignored; no equivalent available.agentsdiscovery for instructions, agents, and hooksThis request is complementary to #4204: that issue proposes broader
.agentsdiscovery, while this issue requests a supported way to configure where that user-level discovery tree lives.