Installing HVE Core

HVE Core delivers GitHub Copilot customizations (agents, instructions, prompts, and skills) that accelerate your development workflow. Pick the installation path that fits your needs.

Marketplace Install (Recommended)

Install the HVE Core extension for a zero-configuration experience that works across local VS Code, devcontainers, and GitHub Codespaces.

1. Open VS Code and go to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X).
2. Search for HVE Core.
3. Click Install on the extension published by ise-hve-essentials.
4. Reload VS Code when prompted.

Or visit: HVE Core on VS Code Marketplace

The extension installs the hve-core (Flagship) collection containing 40 artifacts for the RPI workflow. Updates arrive automatically through VS Code.

See Extension Installation Guide for complete documentation.

TIP

The marketplace extension is the fastest way to start. You can switch to a clone-based method later without losing any configuration.

Selective Install

Teams that only need specific domains can use the HVE Installer extension to deploy individual collections into a workspace.

1. Install the HVE Installer extension from the VS Code Marketplace.

2. Open Copilot Chat and ask any agent: "help me customize hve-core installation".

3. Choose the collections that match your team's workflow.

4. Update preference?

   • Auto: Always get latest HVE Core
   • Controlled: Pin to specific version, update explicitly

Decision Matrix

Environment	Team	Updates	Recommended Method
Any (simplest)	Any	Auto	VS Code Extension ⭐
Local (no container)	Solo	Manual	Peer Directory Clone
Local (no container)	Team	Controlled	Submodule
Local devcontainer	Solo	Auto	Git-Ignored Folder
Local devcontainer	Team	Controlled	Submodule
Codespaces only	Solo	Auto	GitHub Codespaces
Codespaces only	Team	Controlled	Submodule
Both local + Codespaces	Any	Any	Multi-Root Workspace
Advanced (shared install)	Solo	Auto	Mounted Directory
Any (CLI preferred)	Any	Manual	CLI Plugins

⭐ VS Code Extension is the recommended method for most users who don't need customization.

Collection Packages

HVE Core organizes artifacts into role-based collections. The VS Code extension installs the HVE Core Workflow collection (flagship RPI workflow and core artifacts). For the complete set across all collections, use the hve-core-all CLI plugin or installer skill. Clone-based methods also support filtering which agents to copy by collection bundle.

Collection	Collection ID	Maturity	Description
Full ⭐	hve-core-all	Stable	All stable artifacts (recommended for most)
HVE Core Workflow	hve-core	Stable	RPI workflow with Git commit, merge, and pull request prompts
Azure DevOps	ado	Stable	Work item management, build monitoring, and PR creation
Coding Standards	coding-standards	Stable	Language-specific instructions for bash, Bicep, C#, Python, etc.
Data Science	data-science	Stable	Data specs, Jupyter notebooks, and Streamlit dashboards
Design Thinking	design-thinking	Preview	AI-enhanced Design Thinking coaching across nine methods
GitHub Backlog	github	Stable	Issue discovery, triage, sprint planning, and backlog execution
Installer	installer	Stable	Interactive installer skill for workspace configuration
Project Planning	project-planning	Stable	PRDs, BRDs, ADRs, and architecture diagrams
Security	security	Experimental	Security review, planning, incident response, and risk assessment
Experimental	experimental	Experimental	Artifacts not yet promoted to stable collections

Extension Installation (Flagship Collection)

The VS Code Marketplace extension installs the HVE Core Workflow collection: the flagship set of RPI agents, prompts, and instructions. This is the recommended starting point for most users. For every stable artifact across all collections, use the hve-core-all Extension or plugin.

Clone Methods (Agent Bundle Selection)

Clone-based installation methods support agent bundle selection through the HVE Core installer skill:

1. Install the HVE Core Installer extension to get the installer skill
2. Ask any agent: "help me customize hve-core installation"
3. Choose an agent bundle by collection or copy all agents

The installer skill reads collection assignments from collections/*.collection.yml and copies only the agents from your selected bundles to .github/agents/.

IMPORTANT

Agent bundle selection currently applies to agents only. Support for prompts, instructions, and skills is planned for a future release.

Developer Setup

Contributors and advanced users who need to modify HVE Core source code should clone the repository directly.

1. Fork and clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/<your-fork>/hve-core.git

2. Install dependencies:

   cd hve-core && npm ci

3. Open the workspace in VS Code. A devcontainer configuration is included for containerized development.

Detailed instructions for each clone-based approach:

• Peer Directory Clone for side-by-side local development
• Git Submodule for team version control
• Contributing Guide for pull request and development conventions

Choosing a Method

The three paths above cover the vast majority of scenarios. If your environment has specific constraints (Codespaces-only, mounted containers, multi-root workspaces), the Comparing Setup Methods page has a detailed decision matrix and decision tree. The Setup Methods Overview lists every available approach.

Validation

After installing, verify that HVE Core is active:

1. Open Copilot Chat in VS Code.
2. Type @ to see available agents.
3. Look for HVE Core agents like task-researcher, task-planner, and task-implementor.

If you don't see the agents, check the Troubleshooting page for common solutions.

Post-Installation: Update Your .gitignore

Add this line to your project's .gitignore:

.copilot-tracking/

IMPORTANT

This applies to all installation methods. The .copilot-tracking/ folder is created in your project directory, not in HVE Core itself.

The folder stores ephemeral workflow artifacts (research documents, implementation plans, PR review notes, and work item planning files) that help agents maintain context across sessions. These files are useful during your workflow but should not be committed to your repository.

MCP Server Configuration (Optional)

Some HVE Core agents use MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers to integrate with Azure DevOps, GitHub, or documentation services. Agents work without MCP configuration; it is an optional enhancement.

See MCP Server Configuration for setup instructions covering server requirements, configuration templates, and troubleshooting.

Next Steps

• Your First Interaction to confirm your setup works
• Your First Workflow to try HVE Core with a real task
• RPI Workflow for the Research, Plan, Implement methodology

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🤖 Crafted with precision by ✨Copilot following brilliant human instruction, then carefully refined by our team of discerning human reviewers.