name: creating-agents description: Creates GitHub Copilot custom agents as specialized personas with controlled tools and handoffs. Use when building role-based workflows (planner, reviewer, architect) or guided multi-agent sequences. license: Apache-2.0 metadata: author: coveo version: "1.0"

Creating Agents

Process

Step 1: Plan the Agent

Before creating, answer:

1. What autonomous workflow does this agent perform?
2. What triggers should activate it? (GitHub events, user requests, etc.)
3. What tools does it need? (codebase, editFiles, runCommands, etc.)
4. What outputs does it produce? (files, PRs, comments, etc.)

Step 2: Initialize

node .github/skills/creating-agents/scripts/init_agent.mjs <agent-name>

Creates: {name}-v1.agent.md and examples/{name}-examples.md

Step 3: Complete the Agent

1. Set frontmatter - description, tools, handoffs
2. Define persona - Clear role (planner, reviewer, etc.)
3. Write workflow - Numbered steps the agent follows
4. Add quality checklist - Validation criteria before completing
5. Create test scenarios - At least 3 scenarios (happy path, ambiguous input, error case)

For format details, see SPECIFICATION.md. For frontmatter fields, see frontmatter-reference.md. For workflow patterns, see agent-patterns.md. For coding patterns, see agentic-coding.md.

Step 4: Validate

node .github/skills/creating-agents/scripts/validate_agent.mjs .github/agents/<name>-v1.agent.md

Modifying Existing Agents

Extending an agent:

1. Read existing agent to understand current workflow
2. Add new steps/capabilities without breaking existing behavior
3. Update description if scope expanded
4. Add test scenarios for new functionality

Versioning an agent:

1. Create new file with incremented version: {name}-v2.agent.md
2. Keep old version functional during transition
3. Deprecate old version after migration

Deprecating an agent:

1. Add to description: "(Deprecated: use replacement-agent instead)"
2. Keep functional until dependents migrate
3. Delete only after confirming no references remain

Reference Documentation

Scripts

Validation Checklist

• Frontmatter has name, description, tools
• Name matches filename (PascalCase AgentNameV1 for agent-name-v1.agent.md)
• Description includes trigger keywords
• Body has clear workflow sections
• Test scenarios file created with 3+ scenarios