How to use custom prompts files in JetBrains?

[mikejhill]

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Copilot Feature Area

JetBrains & Xcode

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Has anyone been able to get custom prompt files (.github/prompts/*.prompts.md) to work with the JetBrains plugin?

It appears these should be available per the 1.5.54 release notes. /-commands work in VS Code but not IntelliJ, and I can't seem to find any other natural way to use them. The only option I see is to manually include them in the context. The JetBrains plugin documentation doesn't seem to be updated yet to include any notes.

1.5.54 release notes:

Added: Prompt Files: Support for .prompt.md files, which allow defining project-scoped prompt customization in the .github/prompts directory.

[VictorMoni]

Hi! @mikejhill 😄👋

From what I’ve seen, support for .prompt.md files was added in Copilot 1.5.54, but right now the JetBrains plugin doesn’t fully expose this feature the same way VS Code does.

At the moment:

• In VS Code, /commands and prompt files under .github/prompts work as expected.
• In JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, etc.), the plugin hasn’t been updated yet to support prompt file auto-loading, so you’d need to manually copy/paste or include the content into your context.

The JetBrains plugin documentation hasn’t been updated to reflect prompt files support yet. It looks like this is still pending in future plugin releases.

For now, the best workaround is manual inclusion, or keep an eye on the plugin’s changelog for upcoming updates.

Hope this helps clarify! 🚀

[mikejhill]

Thanks @VictorMoni, I appreciate the reply. Is 1.5.54 the version of some backing Copilot library then? I see my VS Code extension is at 1.364.0. The release notes I shared above seem specific to the JetBrains plugin from what I can tell, which makes it confusing that prompts would not actually be surfaced yet.

[VictorMoni]

You’re welcome @mikejhill 😄👍

Great point — the version numbers can definitely be confusing.
The 1.5.54 I mentioned refers to the Copilot core service/release notes, not to the VS Code or JetBrains plugin version itself.

• In VS Code, the extension version (like 1.364.0) is separate from the underlying Copilot service updates. That’s why you see a different number there.
• In JetBrains, the plugin still hasn’t fully implemented prompt file support, even though the feature exists on the Copilot backend.

So essentially, the functionality is available in the Copilot service, but the JetBrains plugin hasn’t caught up yet to surface it properly. Hopefully, the next plugin updates will align with the backend features.

[mikejhill]

@VictorMoni my resolved answer is below.

I'm sorry for asking, but are these AI-generated replies? Both responses have many signs of being AI-generated, including confidently ignoring key details.

[VictorMoni]

Hi @mikejhill 👋

Totally understand your concern — no, my replies weren’t AI-generated.
I just went through the Copilot release notes and the JetBrains plugin docs myself and tried to summarize the differences as clearly as possible.

That said, I may have oversimplified in places, so thanks for pointing that out 🙏 — I’ll keep double-checking the docs to make sure the info stays accurate.

[mikejhill]

Through some sleuthing, I found that prompts were not yet available because the Copilot organization plan in use has editor_preview_features disabled. Switching to a plan which does not have this restriction resolves the issue.

[VictorMoni]

Thanks for sharing this insight, @mikejhill 🙌

That makes a lot of sense — I didn’t realize the editor_preview_features flag could block access to prompts on certain org plans.
This will definitely help others facing the same issue. Appreciate you digging into it!

[tusharkhakare]

JetBrains Copilot plugin lacks .github/prompts/*.prompts.md support; use .github/copilot-instructions.md or manually include context in IntelliJ.