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Copilot AI commented Sep 3, 2025

This PR adds a comprehensive .github/copilot-instructions.md file that provides GitHub Copilot coding agents with detailed instructions for working effectively in the trodes_to_nwb codebase.

Key Features

Environment Setup Instructions

  • Complete conda environment setup with exact commands and timing expectations
  • Documented workaround for pip install issues using PYTHONPATH approach
  • Clear timeout guidance (5+ minutes for environment creation, never cancel)

Development Workflow

  • Step-by-step commands for setting up a working development environment
  • Validation steps to ensure the package works correctly after changes
  • Linting and formatting commands with expected timing

Critical Issue Documentation

  • Network connectivity issues with PyPI that prevent pip install -e .
  • Missing test data files (.rec files) that cause many tests to fail normally
  • FFmpeg dependency conflicts between pip and conda versions

Complete Testing Strategy

  • Test suite timing expectations (~1-2 minutes, many tests skip due to missing data)
  • Basic functionality validation script for core package functionality
  • Code formatting validation with black

Practical Examples

  • Working example development session with all commands
  • Common task reference with repository structure overview
  • Before-commit checklist to ensure code quality

The instructions follow an imperative tone with firm directives as requested, providing everything a coding agent needs to work effectively in this scientific data conversion codebase without trial-and-error discovery.

Fixes #137.


✨ Let Copilot coding agent set things up for you — coding agent works faster and does higher quality work when set up for your repo.

Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] ✨ Set up Copilot instructions Create comprehensive GitHub Copilot instructions for development workflow Sep 3, 2025
Copilot AI requested a review from samuelbray32 September 3, 2025 22:26
Copilot finished work on behalf of samuelbray32 September 3, 2025 22:26
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✨ Set up Copilot instructions

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