Spaces
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use Copilot Spaces, a way to organize all the context Copilot needs into one reusable workspace. You’ll see how to create a new space, add instructions, link files, issues, and pull requests, and even include past conversations. By the end, you’ll know how to use Spaces to build shared project hubs that make Copilot more consistent, collaborative, and useful across your team.
Problem
Ad-hoc Copilot chats are great for quick questions — but every time you start a new one, you have to rebuild the context from scratch. You paste links, re-upload docs, and re-explain your goals, which wastes time and leads to inconsistent answers. Spaces solve this by letting you bundle everything that matters — repos, files, issues, notes, and instructions — into a single, saved context that Copilot can use again and again.
Instead of starting over each time, you (and your teammates) can return to a shared workspace where Copilot already knows the project history, goals, and tone — making collaboration faster, clearer, and more reliable.
What you need to know
Think of Spaces as your project’s “context bundles.” Instead of starting every chat from scratch, you package up the right ingredients—repos, folders, specific files, issues/PRs, uploaded docs, notes—into a single, reusable workspace. Then, anywhere on GitHub, you can load that space and chat with Copilot about it.
Why Spaces are worth it
Richer answers, less wrangling: Pull together all the artifacts that matter so Copilot reasons across them—no more copy-pasting links or re-uploading docs.
One source of truth: Instructions + files + conversations live together. When someone joins later, they inherit the context and history instantly.
Portable & repeatable: Load the same space in any chat or repo. Great for recurring tasks (e.g., release reviews, performance audits, etc).
Team-ready: Spaces are shareable. Standardize prompts, tone, and rules so the whole team gets consistent results.
How Spaces differ from ad-hoc chat
Without a Space | With a Space |
|---|---|
You add context each time and lose it after. | You curate once; it’s saved, reusable, and improves over time. |
Answers vary as context drifts. | Consistent guidance via space instructions (role, tone, rules). |
Hard to collaborate on “what Copilot should see.” | Shared, named workspace everyone can open and build on. |
Mental model: A Space is a project hub for Copilot, files + issues/PRs + notes + instructions + conversations, ready to import into any chat.
When Spaces shine
Onboarding & audits: “Everything you need to understand service X” (README, diagrams, logs, top issues, key PRs).
Cross-repo work: Microservices, shared libraries, or platform-wide upgrades where context spans multiple codebases.
Docs & design reviews: Keep specs and discussion history together; ask Copilot to summarize, compare, and propose next steps.
Recurring tasks: Reuse a space every week with the same prompts and checklists for consistent outcomes.
Pro tips
Start small. Add only the most useful stuff first (key files, one or two PRs). You can always add more later.
Invite your team in. Spaces work best when shared—add teammates so everyone can see the same context and keep conversations in one place.
Name it for the job. Use clear, purpose-based names like “Auth Bug Triage” instead of “My Space 2.”
Keep it fresh. Remove old links, pin the important docs, and tidy noisy files so Copilot stays on track.
TL;DR: Spaces turn “context setup” into a one-time, shareable asset. Build it once, reuse everywhere, and let Copilot reason over your whole project—not just a single file.
Creating a New Space
From anywhere on GitHub , click the Copilot icon in the top-right menu bar.
In the Copilot menu, navigate down to Spaces.
Select Create New Space.
Give your space a clear name (e.g., “Performance Audit” or “Docs Overhaul”).
You’ve now created a blank space, ready to customize.
Adding Instructions
Every space comes with an instructions document. This acts as the baseline guidance for Copilot when you chat inside the space.
You can use instructions to:
Assign Copilot a role (“You are a senior Python reviewer”).
Provide interaction rules (“Always respond with examples and keep answers concise”).
Define the tone (“Be encouraging and explain things as if to a beginner”).
Example instructions:
You are an assistant helping the team migrate code to TypeScript.
Always check for type safety and explain how to reduce runtime errors.
When giving examples, use this repo’s style conventions. This ensures that every conversation in this space follows the same ground rules.
Adding Context
Spaces become powerful once you add content. You can load:
Repositories or folders – for source code.
Specific files – focus on just what you need.
Issues and pull requests – to include ongoing project work.
Uploaded files – like PDFs, logs, or CSVs.
Plain text – paste in meeting notes, requirements, or examples.
Everything you add becomes part of the context Copilot uses when answering questions.
Adding Conversations
Spaces don’t just store files and issues, they also keep your conversations with Copilot.
Any chat that happens inside the space is saved and will automatically include all the artifacts in the space as context.
Over time, your space evolves into a knowledge hub, combining artifacts (repos, issues, notes) with the running history of your team’s Q&A and decisions.
This means when you return to the space later, Copilot remembers the prior conversations alongside the files and instructions.
Using Spaces
Spaces aren’t locked to one place, you can import a space into any Copilot chat. This means:
You can bring the full context of a space (files, repos, issues, notes, instructions, and conversations) into a new or existing chat window.
Copilot will then answer your questions using not just the immediate repo you’re in, but the richer context defined in the space.
This makes spaces highly portable, you can reuse the same curated context across different conversations and workflows.
In the image above, we import a space as context for a Copilot chat
Sharing Spaces
Not every Copilot Space is the same; there are personal spaces and organization spaces.
Personal Spaces belong to an individual user. They’re private by design and can’t be shared with anyone else. These are great for experiments, personal notes, or work-in-progress contexts you’re not ready to collaborate on yet.
Organization Spaces belong to a GitHub organization. These can be shared with other org members, allowing multiple people to collaborate in the same space, see the same context, and build on shared instructions and conversations.
Create a New Space
Click New Space. A dialog will appear asking who should own the space.
Choose the Owner
Select your organization (not your individual account) as the owner.
Note: If you select yourself as the owner, the space will be personal and cannot be shared later.
Add Collaborators
Click the “Share” icon at the top right of the Space page and invite org members to collaborate.
✏️ Exercise
Goal: Practice creating a space, setting instructions, adding context, and using conversations as part of the workspace.
Step 1 – Create Your Space
Open the Copilot menu → go to Spaces → click New Space.
Name it “Project Explorer”.
Step 2 – Add Instructions
Edit the
instructionssection.Paste in:
You are a mentor guiding a junior developer. Always explain things in clear, simple terms with examples. Highlight potential bugs and suggest best practices.Save your instructions.
Step 3 – Add Context
Add at least:
One repo (or folder from a repo).
One open issue or pull request.
A plain text note (e.g., “Goals: improve performance and code clarity”).
Confirm that these appear in the space’s context list.
Step 4 – Start a Conversation
In the space’s chat window, ask:
Summarize this repo and tell me how the open pull request connects to it.Follow up with:
Suggest a next step we should take to address the goals I listed in the notes.Observe how the conversation references both the repo and your notes.
Reflection
Did the instructions change the way Copilot responded?
How did including issues/PRs shape the insights Copilot gave?
How might you use spaces with your team, for code reviews, documentation, or feature planning?
Next Steps
You now know how to bundle and share context using Spaces!
In the next step, you’ll learn how to get Copilot to perform tasks and open PRs on your codebase.