Add GitHub Copilot Agent Skills for .NET IoT repository by Copilot · Pull Request #2473 · dotnet/iot

Copilot · 2026-02-05T16:41:49Z

Create AI Skills Based on Copilot Instructions

Summary

Successfully created 5 comprehensive AI skills for the .NET IoT repository totaling 1,777 lines of guidance:

Skills Created

add-device-binding - Complete guide for adding new IoT device bindings with proper API patterns, resource management, and documentation
debug-build-issues - Comprehensive troubleshooting for Azure DevOps feeds, SDK errors, timeouts, and CI/CD failures
fix-api-conventions - Detailed API design patterns including UnitsNet usage, error handling, and visibility guidelines
update-device-documentation - Documentation templates and guidelines for README files, XML comments, and wiring diagrams
hardware-abstraction-check - Cross-platform validation ensuring proper use of System.Device.* abstractions

Each skill follows the GitHub Copilot Agent Skills standard format with YAML frontmatter and structured markdown content. All references to in-repository documentation use relative paths for better navigation, and follow repository naming conventions including README title format and documentation section structure.

Original prompt

Create AI skills based on copilot instructions and past issues assigned to copilot

💬 We'd love your input! Share your thoughts on Copilot coding agent in our 2 minute survey.

Microsoft Reviewers: Open in CodeFlow

…e abstraction Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

- Add MD041 exception to .markdownlint.json for YAML frontmatter - Fix MD031: Add blank lines around fenced code blocks - Fix MD032: Add blank lines around lists - Fix MD022: Add blank lines around headings - Fix MD040: Specify language for code blocks - Fix MD036: Remove emphasis used as heading Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

.github/skills/add-device-binding/SKILL.md

krwq · 2026-03-19T16:43:58Z

.github/skills/add-device-binding/SKILL.md

+
+- Developer requests adding a new device binding for a sensor, display, motor, or other hardware component
+- Creating a new driver under `src/devices/<DeviceName>`
+- Need to ensure the device follows .NET IoT conventions and patterns


@copilot you should link https://github.com/dotnet/iot/blob/main/Documentation/Devices-conventions.md

Updated all skill files to use full GitHub URLs instead of relative paths. This makes the references more portable and clear. Changed in commit 28e767b.

Files updated:

add-device-binding/SKILL.md

debug-build-issues/SKILL.md

fix-api-conventions/SKILL.md

hardware-abstraction-check/SKILL.md

update-device-documentation/SKILL.md

@copilot I didn't mean to change relative links to absolute but rather to link this specific "Device Convention" reference. relative paths are better

Reverted to relative paths in all References sections. The Device Conventions and other internal documentation links now use relative paths for better in-repository navigation. Changed in commit 0723618.

krwq · 2026-03-19T16:45:31Z

.github/skills/add-device-binding/SKILL.md

+├── <DeviceName>.csproj
+├── <DeviceName>.cs (main class)
+├── samples/
+│   ├── <DeviceName>.samples.csproj


@copilot <DeviceName>.Samples.csproj (capital S in samples)

Corrected to <DeviceName>.Samples.csproj with capital S to match the most common naming convention in the repository (66 out of 129 sample projects use this format). Changed in commit bebccf0.

Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

krwq · 2026-03-19T16:49:44Z

.github/skills/add-device-binding/SKILL.md

+### 2. Constructor & Dependencies
+
+- Accept hardware transports from the caller: `I2cDevice`, `SpiDevice`, `GpioController`, pin numbers, bus addresses
+- Provide sensible defaults (e.g., common I²C addresses like 0x48)


Suggested change

- Provide sensible defaults (e.g., common I²C addresses like 0x48)

- Provide sensible defaults (e.g., common I2C addresses like 0x48)

Changed "I²C" to "I2C" for consistency. Updated in commit c321596.

krwq · 2026-03-19T16:50:29Z

.github/skills/add-device-binding/SKILL.md

+
+- Accept hardware transports from the caller: `I2cDevice`, `SpiDevice`, `GpioController`, pin numbers, bus addresses
+- Provide sensible defaults (e.g., common I²C addresses like 0x48)
+- **Never hardcode board-specific details**


@copilot what does this mean

Clarified with examples: "Never hardcode board-specific details (e.g., GPIO pin numbers, bus IDs, or hardware paths like /dev/i2c-1)". Device bindings should accept these as parameters instead of hardcoding them, ensuring cross-platform compatibility. Updated in commit c321596.

krwq · 2026-03-19T16:52:03Z

.github/skills/add-device-binding/SKILL.md

+
+- XML documentation comments on all public APIs
+- **Include units** in comments (°C, Pa, %RH, lux, etc.)
+- Document parameter ownership (does caller own the transport?)


@copilot clarify: there should always be a way for device to not own the transport

Clarified that devices MUST provide a way for caller to retain ownership of transports via shouldDispose parameter (default true). Updated both the Resource Management section and Documentation Requirements to emphasize this pattern. Changed in commit c321596.

Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

krwq · 2026-03-19T16:54:44Z

.github/skills/add-device-binding/SKILL.md

+- XML documentation comments on all public APIs
+- **Include units** in comments (°C, Pa, %RH, lux, etc.)
+- Document parameter ownership (does caller own the transport?)
+- README.md with:


@copilot

title will be visible in the device listing and therefore it should be short and meaningful and follow existing conventions

second subheader should always be link to documentation/reference

read several READMEs in this repo and try to figure out and document conventions here

Documented README conventions based on analysis of existing device bindings (BMP180, HMC5883L, Bmxx80, LM75, ADS1115, Ahtxx):

Title format: # DeviceName - Brief functional description (short, meaningful, appears in listings)

Documentation section: Must be ## Documentation as second heading, with first item always linking to official datasheet

Required sections: ## Usage with code examples

Updated in commit c1ffacf.

Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

krwq · 2026-03-19T16:56:55Z

.github/skills/add-device-binding/SKILL.md

+# Check for hardware abstraction violations
+grep -r "Environment.OSVersion\|DllImport\|P/Invoke" .


@copilot this seem like some bogus step, no one has any clue what this means

Removed the confusing grep command. Hardware abstraction checking is already covered by the dedicated hardware-abstraction-check skill, so this redundant validation step in the build section was unnecessary and unclear. The Build Validation section now focuses only on building the device and samples. Changed in commit 07b3cb4.

Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

Initial plan

f589fb2

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and krwq Feb 5, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of krwq February 5, 2026 16:42 View session

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits February 5, 2026 16:48

Add AI skills for device bindings, builds, documentation, and hardwar…

c18d766

…e abstraction Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Create AI skills based on Copilot instructions and past issues~~ Add GitHub Copilot Agent Skills for .NET IoT repository Feb 5, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from krwq February 5, 2026 16:57

Copilot finished work on behalf of krwq February 5, 2026 16:57

joperezr marked this pull request as ready for review February 19, 2026 16:50

joperezr reviewed Feb 19, 2026

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Copilot started work on behalf of joperezr February 19, 2026 16:56 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of joperezr February 19, 2026 16:57

Copilot AI requested a review from joperezr February 19, 2026 16:57

krwq reviewed Mar 19, 2026

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Copilot started work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:44 View session

krwq reviewed Mar 19, 2026

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Use full GitHub URLs instead of relative paths in skill references

28e767b

Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI requested a review from krwq March 19, 2026 16:46

Copilot finished work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:46

Copilot started work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:47 View session

Fix sample project naming convention to use capital S (.Samples.csproj)

bebccf0

Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:49

krwq reviewed Mar 19, 2026

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:49 View session

krwq reviewed Mar 19, 2026

View reviewed changes

Revert to relative paths in References sections per feedback

0723618

Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI requested a review from krwq March 19, 2026 16:52

Copilot finished work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:52

Copilot started work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:53 View session

krwq reviewed Mar 19, 2026

View reviewed changes

Clarify constructor guidelines and transport ownership requirements

c321596

Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI requested a review from krwq March 19, 2026 16:56

Copilot finished work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:56

Copilot started work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:56 View session

krwq reviewed Mar 19, 2026

View reviewed changes

Document README conventions for device bindings

c1ffacf

Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI requested a review from krwq March 19, 2026 16:59

Copilot finished work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:59

Copilot started work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 16:59 View session

Remove confusing grep command from build validation section

07b3cb4

Co-authored-by: krwq <660048+krwq@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of krwq March 19, 2026 17:02

	- Provide sensible defaults (e.g., common I²C addresses like 0x48)
	- Provide sensible defaults (e.g., common I2C addresses like 0x48)

		# Check for hardware abstraction violations
		grep -r "Environment.OSVersion\\|DllImport\\|P/Invoke" .

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Create AI Skills Based on Copilot Instructions

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Skills Created

Microsoft Reviewers: Open in CodeFlow

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Copilot AI commented Feb 5, 2026 •

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