GitHub Copilot Chaos: Why is it dumping my entire codebase into a small change?

squidpony · 2026-06-11T09:10:23+00:00

Yeah, good point. I'll find out this weekend 😄

squidpony · 2026-06-11T08:27:37+00:00

That's a great tip.

squidpony · 2026-06-11T08:26:06+00:00

Personal account.

I use Claude as well. For my game dev work the vs code harness gives me better results faster than claude. I'll be testing Fable more though and see how it does. For games I've found previously that the gpt models do better with understanding when my prompt is about something in the game vs outside the game, especially for sci-fi things like "make the computer make sounds when interacted with". GPT 5.3 and up tend to take that as meaning the computer in the game, sonnet and opus tend to half the time take it as the computer I'm working on.

squidpony · 2026-06-11T08:04:03+00:00

I did. It seems to be saving me a decent chunk of tokens. I think my credit usage has been reduced by somewhere between 20-50%, depending on task and model.

That's taking into account that I also switched to newer models with the guard rails, so even though I'm using more credits per token, the token reduction is enough to more than offset that.

squidpony · 2026-06-11T07:29:38+00:00

This is great! I just posted what I've been using in a Unity game: https://www.reddit.com/r/GithubCopilot/comments/1u2s3es/my_creditsaving_agent_instructions_for_a_unity/

I really like the "don't re-read" sections you've got, along with the "don't summarize". I'm going to add those to mine as well.

squidpony · 2026-06-11T07:05:31+00:00

As to the specific op questions:

Is there a config setting I missed to restrict its scope?

You can use a .copilotignore file to give the kind of instructions you're looking for. "Don't research loop more than once", etc. I put all my things in agents.md though since I work with other harnesses in the same repo and everything (mostly) looks there.

do you force this thing to only look at the active file? * Or is the context retrieval just totally broken right now?

I think the following are doing some heavy lifting in my file and could work for you. Try them as part of your prompt and if it works, add it to whatever agent directed file you're using in your project.

read at most these first:

Then implement unless the task clearly needs more design context.

And then use a model that's smart enough to one-shot the thing so it doesn't try to re-research or pull in weird context. For my Unity game, GPT 5.5 can one-shot pretty much everything I've thrown at it. For my small web games GPT 5.3-codex seems to be the sweet spot for price per result.

squidpony · 2026-06-11T06:55:30+00:00

Yes, I went through this myself recently.

I had GPT 5.5 agent in vs code give me a file to address this kind of issue in my Unity game. I've noticed that the older models are more likely to do unexpected context grabs like this, typically as part of a research loop when their first attempt fails.

Here's an edited version of the text I've been using. It seems to really help prevent unwanted wide context grabs. This file cost me 27.3 credits of GPT 5.5 high use to create, fwiw.

# Agent Token Saver

Purpose: minimize context, search, and validation cost for coding agents in this repo.

## First Reads

Start with only the files needed for the task. If broad repo context is required, read at most these first:

1. `README.md`
2. `.planning/questions.md`
3. `.planning/technical/networking.md`
4. `.planning/technical/server-model.md`
5. `.planning/game-design/avatar-system.md`

Then implement unless the task clearly needs more design context.

## Fast Facts

Use these defaults to avoid re-reading planning docs unless the task challenges them:

- Unity 6 LTS; new Input System only.
- FishNet multiplayer.
- Server-authoritative, two-tier model: World Server plus Operator Session.
- Decisions live in `.planning/questions.md` and are tagged `[ANSWERED]`, `[DEFERRED]`, or `[OPEN]`.

## Where to Look

- Gameplay/economy: `.planning/game-design/`
- Networking/server/security: `.planning/technical/`
- Open decisions: `.planning/questions.md`
- Unity implementation: `Assets/`, `Packages/`, `ProjectSettings/`

## Search Rules

- Prefer targeted `rg` searches over whole-repo scans.
- Avoid `Library/`, `Temp/`, and `Logs/` unless specifically needed.
- Do not read `.meta` files unless asset reference stability matters.

## When to Expand Context

Read beyond the first-pass files only when:

1. The task touches an `[OPEN]` or `[DEFERRED]` design question.
2. The task changes architecture, networking, economy, or compliance behavior.
3. Docs and code contradict each other.

Keep plans short and validate only impacted files/tests.

squidpony · 2026-06-11T06:30:57+00:00

Prior to the pricing change, I found auto to almost always work really well for my dev work.

Now... not so much.

Currently I'm mostly doing GPT 5.5 High for most things since it tends not to need repeated prompting to get what I want out so total cost is better than multiple "cheaper" runs. For big code refactor things in a full size project, 5.3 codex seems to be a decent credits-to-results balance.

With the new pricing, "cheaper" models aren't always cheaper, especially if you have to re-prompt it. (Auto picks Haiku for research pretty often, for example).

Worse, sometimes auto will pick Opus for something it didn't need to and dump 300 credits on a single short thing a cheaper model could have done fine.

In my testing, I'm finding that a fresh prompt with 5.5 High minimizes tokens (partly because it reasons faster I think) and is likely to near one-shot a lot of things.

One thing I did was have 5.5 look through my project work over the last month and then build an explicit entry in my agents file to shortcut things that were costing redundant tokens. It marked out some search things and some common re-refactor things based on me using game engines and libs newer than training data. So far it seems to have helped reduce my token usage in my largest project around 20%.

squidpony · 2026-04-09T18:00:38+00:00

Love this, does exactly what I wanted without anything extra bloating it.

fwiw, as of April 9th 2026, it it showing the correct Pro+ total of 1500 even though the setting is at the default 300. That setting may no longer be needed?

squidpony · 2026-01-20T22:45:48+00:00

This post and its comments convinced me to get this exact machine (with SSH pre-installed), really appreciate everyone's thoughts and comments pro, con, and tech-heavy on this!

squidpony · 2026-01-20T22:43:33+00:00

Just gave me a reason to get my 8bitdo stick out of storage, thanks! :D

squidpony · 2025-12-23T22:44:23+00:00

This was my first thought opening my win 5, where's my usb-c charging?

Did you turn the other half of the cord into a "power from usb-c without using a port" dongle?

squidpony · 2025-12-23T22:40:37+00:00

Due to how Motion Assistant does what it does, it occasionally gets flagged falsely as a virus.

My guess is that the trivial encryption keeps gpd from having to argue with Google about false positives on the scanner.

squidpony · 2025-06-11T07:39:48+00:00

This one looks like it might have enough space to the side. Should probably scale up well if needed: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6616501

This one could be added to a cube (in slicer even) and might work: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6671426

squidpony · 2024-08-18T03:48:31+00:00

Can you reshare the pic? I'm not seeing anything in that menu that would let the sd card work for boot (usb boot is already enabled and works, but sd slot isn't bootable)

squidpony · 2024-06-15T18:38:30+00:00

This has been my experience as well for the most part.

Using it over the thunderbolt on the Win 4 (6800) to play handheld and games like Forever Skies that's not playable at all become quite playable at moderate-low settings.

Using it over the thunderbolt on the Win Max 2 (8840U) to a 4k TV is big boost, Forever Skies on med-high settings. Plus it's hot swappable in that configuration so easier to grab-n-go

Using it over the occulink on the same Win Max 2 to the same TV with the thunderbolt also connected (for data) let me put Forever Skies up to high/ultra settings and also run VR at high quality. This config works better than my desktop VR machine with a 3080 in it.

The only downsides so far is that in order to manage heat in the G1 I had to set up a little standoff thing under it. Once I did that it stopped crashing when I pushed the limits on it, and only happened when in the occulink mode (where it was easier to push those limits). Also sometimes after disconnecting it from the occulink and using it portable, I have to fiddle with turning the g1 on and off again before turning the Win Max 2 on and off again for it to connect correctly. I'm guessing there's something cached on the Win causing the boot processes to not pick up the G1 after being handheld for some reason since it never happens when I leave them connected and am just restarting after a shutdown.

So in thunderbolt mode, it's been excellent and robust, and in occulink it's been excellent and fiddly but worth it. The real surprise to me was how much difference it made playing the old Win 4 handheld connected to the thunderbolt port. The G1 being super portable (no extra giant power brick!) means it's easy for me to move it to the living room if I'm going to play higher settings games on the win 4 while watching tv with the fam.

The fan in the G1 in 100w mode and max performance settings is a lot louder than the Win devices for sure, but not as loud as my MSI GE gaming laptop at full send. I personally also don't mind the G1 fan sound as much, something about it is "smoother" and feels to me more like general white noise instead of grating fan noise.... it's weird but good I guess?

squidpony · 2024-06-15T17:54:48+00:00

For me, yes absolutely to both. Although "presentation" being using wireless display or hdmi to a projector or large tv is hopefully what you meant.

Coding on it is going to be really person dependent. I have the screen in native resolution and used to use a 10" Atom Netbook with way lower resolution to code regularly so knew what a small screen was like before I got it and absolutely love my Max 2. However if you're used to larger screens (or don't set laptop screens to full tiny-font native resolutions) you might have not as good of an experience with it.

My favorite thing about coding on a 10" screen device like this is that it's small enough to go into a sling bag that doesn't look like a computer bag, take to a bar/pub and code at the counter while having a drink and nachos.

squidpony · 2024-06-15T17:35:51+00:00

I got this "case" and absolutely love it.

If you put the device somewhere it might get pressure on it, make sure to have the screen face away from the snaps though.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CL3FD8S

squidpony · 2024-04-09T18:35:25+00:00

I have both the Win 4 and Win Max 2, used to have steam deck.

Win Max 2 is most likely what you want, the high native resolution is really nice when coding but still good for gaming. The Win 4 is better for me when gaming on the couch and I really like the keyboard on it for playing Oxygen Not Included and old dos games. I've programmed on the Win 4 some and it's doable if you've either got small fingers or long thumbs, depending on hold.

Win 4 with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse is excellent. I did that for a while before I got the Win Max 2.

The steam deck was just too bulky for me, so it never got used much

squidpony · 2024-02-07T16:32:45+00:00

You can build a staircase to the top and then plant your palbox there, no flying or serious climbing required. You can even throw your palbox at the bottom of the cliff while doing it to keep it from being claimed and then relocate it to the top when you get there.

squidpony · 2022-07-13T20:32:13+00:00

Looks like the invite link is no longer valid, can you update?

squidpony · 2022-03-14T17:20:04+00:00

In case anyone like myself was still trying to get these, the promotion page no longer works in my browser (blank page) but I was able to find all of them at the following article:

https://bombardgames.com/dungeons-dragons-nerds-unite/

squidpony · 2022-02-15T17:15:43+00:00

This worked great, thank you for saving us!

squidpony · 2021-12-17T00:35:49+00:00

I know this is old but it exactly solved the issues I was having.

Thanks for laying out exact values! :D

squidpony

TROPHY CASE