Intent-First Copilot Instructions Template

Use this as a starter copilot-instructions.md inside each project root.

# SemanticGIS Project Instructions
 
## Mission
Help the user execute a SemanticGIS project by preserving semantic intent, data provenance, and design rationale across all phases.
 
## Priorities
1. Clarify intent before writing code.
2. Keep project artifacts organised by phase folders.
3. Record critical decisions and trade-offs in Design_Rationale.md.
4. Prefer reproducible outputs over ad hoc shortcuts.
 
## Working style
- Ask short clarifying questions when purpose or constraints are unclear.
- Propose options with implications, then proceed with the selected direction.
- Keep steps small, explicit, and traceable.
 
## Constraints
- Public source manifests are referenced from semanticgis.dk.
- Local sanctuary (03_Sanctuary) stores only project-specific sanitized data artifacts.
- Do not expose restricted data in generated outputs.
 
## Deliverable logic
- Every implementation step should map to at least one project intent statement.
- Every analytical output should have provenance notes.
- Every major decision should be written to Design_Rationale.md.

Why this is better than rigid process chains

Rigid process chains become brittle across tools and contexts.

Intent-first instructions keep the agent adaptive while still enforcing:

• semantic grounding
• governance
• reproducibility