# exclude-prompt-data

This rule keeps prompt instructions and commentary out of edited files. Use it when Copilot generates code or documentation from a request.

- rule · `type=rule` · GitHub Copilot · ★ 40418
- Author: github · official GitHub repository
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/tree/HEAD/instructions/exclude-prompt-data.instructions.md
- Updated: 2026-10-23
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/rules/exclude-prompt-data

## What it does

The rule draws a line between the request and the file’s contents. It keeps task wording, rationale, and status-style acknowledgments out of the result; comments should explain code behavior, while documentation should describe the feature itself.

Its `applyTo: '**'` setting covers every file. There are exceptions for verbatim text the user asks to insert, edits to instruction files, and brief changelog entries. In a GitHub Copilot repository, place the rule at `.github/instructions/exclude-prompt-data.instructions.md`; other IDEs use their own paths listed with the rule.

## Install

### GitHub Copilot (native platform)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/instructions/exclude-prompt-data.instructions.md` — The applyTo field sets which files it applies to

### Claude Code

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.claude/rules/exclude-prompt-data.md` — The paths frontmatter field limits the files: move applyTo from the source into paths

### Codex

**AGENTS.md**
- Codex reads AGENTS.md: paste the rule text there

### Cursor

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/rules/exclude-prompt-data.mdc` — Frontmatter: description, globs, alwaysApply. Move applyTo from the source into globs, or the rule will not attach on its own

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/rules/exclude-prompt-data.md`

### Cline

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.clinerules/exclude-prompt-data.md`

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/tree/HEAD/instructions/exclude-prompt-data.instructions.md

## When to use it
- remove prompt wording from generated documentation
- keep request-related narration out of code comments
- describe a feature without repeating why it was requested
- write the task outcome without a progress announcement

## Example prompts
- Add input validation and put only the finished code in the file, with no note about my request.
- Update the docs for the new feature; leave out the task wording and its rationale.
- Review the changed code comments and keep only those that explain what the code does.

## Source text · exclude-prompt-data.instructions.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: c9fb17409ce43196.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE c9fb17409ce43196
````text
---
description: "Write only the resulting content into files. Never echo prompt instructions, rationale, or meta-commentary into documentation, comments, or code being produced from a prompt."
applyTo: '**'
---

# Exclude Prompt Data

When a prompt contains instructional or contextual data used to guide a change,
that data must not appear in the file being updated. The output must reflect
only the *result* of the instruction — not the instruction itself, the
reasoning behind it, or any acknowledgment that it was applied.

## Core Rule

> **Never echo prompt content into the file being changed.**
>
> Only write the outcome. Strip any meta-commentary, rationale, or framing that
> originated in the prompt.

## What Counts as Prompt Data

Prompt data is any content the user provides as instruction or context rather
than as intended file content:

- Descriptions of what to add or change (`"add a --verbose flag that..."`)
- Inline rationale or motivation (`"because the old behavior caused..."`)
- References to the prompt itself (`"as requested"`, `"per the prompt"`,
 `"the new feature has been added as"`)
- Meta-commentary about the update
 (`"This section has been updated to reflect..."`)
- Code comments that narrate a change rather than describe the code
 (`"// Added email validation as requested"`,
 `"// Now validates the input per the new requirement"`)
- Structural scaffold labels used as section markers or template slots
 (the word `this` in `## this Title` is scaffolding, not heading text)

## What Belongs in the Output

The output file should contain only:

- The feature, fix, or content the prompt requested — written as if it always
 belonged there
- Documentation or code that a reader would find useful independent of how the
 change was requested
- Generic, cliche placeholder data in examples (e.g., `Jane Doe`,
 `jane.doe@example.com`, `Acme Corp`, `example.com`) — never real names,
 emails, domains, or organization identifiers pulled from the prompt or local
 configuration
- Language formatting applied to terms in the prompt carries through to the
 output — if the prompt wraps a term in backticks or uses a specific syntax
 convention, follow that same convention in the output

## Output Quality

The prompt's writing quality does not set the bar for the output. Regardless
of how a prompt is phrased, the result must be polished and production-ready:

- Correct grammar, capitalization, and punctuation throughout
- No draft-quality prose or casually written sections
- Informal or sloppy phrasing in the prompt must not carry into the output

## Use Cases

### Adding a Feature Flag to Documentation

**Prompt**

```text
Update file.ext with new feature --new-opt <argument>, documenting the new
feature in features.md
```

**Acceptable result — `features.md`**

```text
### --new-opt

Enables extended output. Requires a value argument. Example:

    ```bash
    file --new-opt foo
    ```
```

**Unacceptable result — `features.md`**

```text
### --new-opt

The new feature `--new-opt` requiring an argument has now been added as
requested. The feature is documented as such.

Enables extended output. Requires a value argument. Example:

    ```bash
    file --new-opt foo
    ```
```

The unacceptable version echoes the prompt's framing
(`"has now been added as requested"`, `"The feature is documented as such"`).
That language belongs in the prompt, not the file.

---

### Updating a Code File

**Prompt**

```text
Add input validation to the createUser function — email must be a valid format.
```

**Acceptable result**

```js
function createUser(name, email) {
  // Rejects addresses missing a local part, @ sign, or domain
  if (!/^[^\s@]+@[^\s@]+\.[^\s@]+$/.test(email)) {
    throw new Error('Invalid email address.');
  }
  // ...
}
```

**Unacceptable result**

```js
// Added email validation as requested in the prompt
function createUser(name, email) {
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE c9fb17409ce43196

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the c9fb17409ce43196 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

First 3931 of 6570 bytes. © github · MIT · https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/tree/HEAD/instructions/exclude-prompt-data.instructions.md

_Part of the page did not fit — see the HTML version._

---
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