From 4edf05096014f0cc67155917e2344871c41c1f35 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Terry Howe <terrylhowe@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2025 17:05:23 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] feature: create copilot structured context

Signed-off-by: Terry Howe <terrylhowe@gmail.com>
---
 .github/copilot-instructions.md | 48 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 48 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 .github/copilot-instructions.md

diff --git a/.github/copilot-instructions.md b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5232bbc82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
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+# Copilot Instructions for Helm
+
+## Overview
+Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes written in Go, supporting v3 (stable) and v4 (unstable) APIs.
+
+## Build & Test
+```bash
+make build              # Build binary
+make test               # Run all tests (style + unit)
+make test-unit          # Unit tests only
+make test-coverage      # With coverage
+make test-style         # Linting
+golangci-lint run       # Direct linting
+go test -run TestName   # Specific test
+```
+
+## Code Structure
+- `/cmd/helm/` - CLI entry point (Cobra-based)
+- `/pkg/` - Public API
+  - `action/` - Core operations (install, upgrade, rollback)
+  - `chart/v2/` - Stable chart format
+  - `engine/` - Template rendering (Go templates + Sprig)
+  - `registry/` - OCI support
+  - `storage/` - Release backends (Secrets/ConfigMaps/SQL)
+- `/internal/` - Private implementation
+  - `chart/v3/` - Next-gen chart format
+
+## Development Guidelines
+
+### Code Standards
+- Use table-driven tests with testify
+- Golden files in `testdata/` for complex output
+- Mock Kubernetes clients for action tests
+- All commits must include DCO sign-off: `git commit -s`
+
+### Branching
+- `main` - Helm v4 development
+- `dev-v3` - Helm v3 stable (backport from main)
+
+### Dependencies
+- `k8s.io/client-go` - Kubernetes interaction
+- `github.com/spf13/cobra` - CLI framework
+- `github.com/Masterminds/sprig` - Template functions
+
+### Key Patterns
+- **Actions**: Operations in `/pkg/action/` use shared Configuration
+- **Dual Chart Support**: v2 (stable) in `/pkg/`, v3 (dev) in `/internal/`
+- **Storage Abstraction**: Pluggable release storage backends