copilot-instructions

Copilot Workspace Instructions (Joomla6)

Purpose

Define always-on behavior for GitHub Copilot Chat in this repository so agent, skill, and prompt usage stays consistent.

Decision hierarchy

Apply this precedence order whenever instructions conflict:

1. .github/skills/core/architecture.md
2. Project-specific skill rules under .github/skills/projects/joomla/
3. Reusable workflow in .github/skills/joomlagen-workflow/SKILL.md
4. Prompt templates under .github/prompts/

Default mode

• Prioritize minimal, safe, reversible changes.
• Keep Joomla MVC flow intact.
• Prefer internal Joomla APIs over direct SQL.
• Do not introduce unapproved dependencies.

Routing policy

• Use JoomlaGen agent for Joomla implementation, refactor, testing, and review tasks.
• Use joomlagen-workflow skill for multi-step execution with validation and DoD closure.
• Use prompt templates from .github/prompts/ only to structure task input, not as rule sources.
• If a task is not Joomla-specific, avoid forcing Joomla workflow files.

Execution policy

• Read architecture rules before implementation.
• Apply only the technical files required by the current change.
• Keep edits scoped to the request and avoid speculative refactors.
• Prefer changes that are easy to test and easy to revert.

Security baseline

• Validate input and escape output.
• Treat all user-provided data as untrusted.
• Prevent XSS and CSRF regressions.
• Avoid unsafe SQL patterns.

Data and frontend guardrails

• Treat JSON files under /data/ as read-only at runtime.
• Use inline payloads only for small, first-render-critical data.
• Use AJAX for larger or non-critical payloads.
• Keep JavaScript modular and avoid global state.
• Keep CSS aligned with BEM and mobile-first principles.

Completion rule

A task is considered complete only if review.md, testing.md, and definition-of-done.md criteria are met.