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Copilot Code Review and the 4,000 Character Limit

2026-07-29 · by Hannah Vernon · in AI for DBAs

Here is a fun way to lose an afternoon: carefully write coding standards into your repository’s .github/copilot-instructions.md, request a Copilot code review on a pull request that violates several of them, and watch the review…

Getting Your AI Agent to Actually Follow Your Instructions

2026-07-28 · by Hannah Vernon · in AI for DBAs

There is a special kind of frustration in watching an AI agent cheerfully do the exact thing your instructions file tells it not to do. You wrote the rule. The rule is right there. The…

Sharing GitHub Copilot Instructions Across Repos and Teams

2026-05-22 · by Hannah Vernon · in AI for DBAs

Your AI assistant starts every conversation as a blank slate. It doesn’t know your team uses COALESCE instead of ISNULL. It doesn’t know your naming conventions, your commit message format, or the three anti-patterns that…

Teaching AI Your Environment: Custom Instructions and Context

2026-04-23 · by Hannah Vernon · in AI for DBAs

Teach your AI agent your team’s T-SQL standards, naming conventions, and environmental context with custom instruction files. One-time setup, permanent payoff.

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