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Consolidate generated-file guardrails in agent instructions #55218

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23 changes: 18 additions & 5 deletions .github/copilot-instructions.md
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Expand Up @@ -103,6 +103,24 @@ Canonical scenarios:
- For fast inner-loop runs of `dotnet.Tests` without a full rebuild, use the
`incremental-test` skill.

## Guardrails

These are hard boundaries for agents working in this repo. Treat them as "must not" rules.

### Do not hand-edit generated files

Some files are produced by tooling and are overwritten the next time the build or a
generation step runs. Editing them by hand causes drift and merge conflicts. Never
manually edit:

- **`.xlf` localization files.** Change the source `.resx` strings instead, then
regenerate the `.xlf` with the `/t:UpdateXlf` MSBuild target. Correctly regenerated
entries have a state of `needs-review-translation` or `new`.
- **Generated man pages** under `documentation/manpages/sdk`. These are generated from
documentation; change the upstream documentation in https://github.com/dotnet/docs instead.
- **Generated workflow lock files** (`.github/workflows/*.lock.yml`).
- More broadly, any file marked `linguist-generated=true` in `.gitattributes`.

## Coding Style

- Code should match the style of the file it's in.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -133,10 +151,5 @@ Canonical scenarios:

## Localization

- Avoid modifying .xlf files and instead prompt the user to update them using the `/t:UpdateXlf` target on MSBuild. Correctly automatically modified .xlf files have elements with state `needs-review-translation` or `new`.
- Consider localizing strings in .resx files when possible.
- When adding a new NETSDK error message in `src/Tasks/Common/Resources/Strings.resx`, assign the next available NETSDK code, append the entry at the end of the file, and update the trailing "latest message added" guard comment.

## Documentation

- Do not manually edit files under documentation/manpages/sdk as these are generated based on documentation and should not be manually modified.
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