Feature Request: Support for Custom Commands from ~/.claude/commands/

[Subterrane]

Feature Request: Support for Custom Commands from ~/.claude/commands/

Problem Statement

Currently, GitHub Copilot CLI only loads custom instructions from CLAUDE.md files in the current working directory and its parent directories. This limits the ability to create reusable, context-specific command templates that can be invoked across different projects.

Proposed Solution

Add support for loading custom command files from a standardized location like ~/.claude/commands/ (or ~/.config/copilot-cli/commands/). These command files would act as specialized "expert mode" contexts that can be invoked when needed.

Example Use Case

A user working with multiple microservices in a large codebase could create a command file like ~/.claude/commands/<command>.md that contains:

• Codebase-specific context and constraints
• Common investigation workflows
• Tool authentication references
• Sub-agent orchestration patterns
• Known gotchas and patterns

The user could then invoke this with something like /<command> <task> or by having Copilot CLI automatically detect when this context is needed.

Benefits

1. Reusability: Write once, use across all projects in the same ecosystem
2. Organization: Keep project-specific CLAUDE.md lean while maintaining rich contextual commands
3. Shareability: Teams can share standardized command templates
4. Separation of Concerns:
   • CLAUDE.md = project/directory-specific context
   • ~/.claude/commands/ = reusable expert mode templates

Proposed Implementation

Option 1: Explicit Invocation

User types a command like /<command> investigate memory leak which:

1. Loads ~/.claude/commands/<command>.md
2. Appends task arguments ($ARGUMENTS = "investigate memory leak")
3. Activates that context for the conversation

Option 2: Auto-detection

Copilot CLI scans for .md files in ~/.claude/commands/ at startup and:

1. Lists available commands in help text
2. Allows user to reference them explicitly
3. Potentially suggests relevant commands based on current directory context

Option 3: Configuration File

Add a ~/.config/copilot-cli/config.yml that specifies:

commands:
  path: ~/.claude/commands
  auto_load: false  # or true to load all at startup

Example Command File Structure

# Expert Mode: [Name]

Context and specialized knowledge...

## Sub-Agents
Links to other specialized agents...

## Workflows
Step-by-step investigation patterns...

---

**Task:** $ARGUMENTS

[Instructions to apply the above expertise to complete the task]

Alternative Considerations

• Security: Ensure command files can't execute arbitrary code, only provide context
• Naming: Support both /command-name slash syntax and natural language detection
• Composition: Allow commands to reference or chain other commands
• Discoverability: copilot --list-commands to show available custom commands

Related Tools

This pattern is inspired by:

• Cursor AI's agent framework
• Claude.ai Projects with custom instructions
• VSCode's task system
• Shell rc files and profile loading patterns

Would love to hear the team's thoughts on this approach!

[kdrapelinexto]

This is definitely a must, I am missing this feature!

[jlliu-sequoia]

+1

[sebdalgarno]

second this!

[EvanBoyle]

We just shipped support for custom agents, which can also be invoked as commands via /agent: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-agents/coding-agent/create-custom-agents