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Support @ file includes in instruction files (like Claude Code) #1530

@polliard

Description

@polliard

Describe the feature or problem you'd like to solve

Support @ inclusion in copilot-instructions.md

Proposed solution

Copilot CLI should support @ file references inside instruction files (e.g., .github/copilot-instructions.md) to include content from other files,
similar to how Claude Code handles includes in its instruction files.

Currently, @ references only work in chat input, not in instruction files. This forces users to either duplicate content across multiple instruction files or use
symlinks/build steps as workarounds.

Use case: A repo with a shared instructions.md that should be included by both .github/copilot-instructions.md (for Copilot) and .claude/instructions.md (for Claude
Code). Without includes, maintaining consistency requires manual duplication or external tooling.

Example prompts or workflows

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