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+# Active Admin - GitHub Copilot Instructions
+
+## Project Overview
+
+Active Admin is a Ruby on Rails framework for creating elegant backends for website administration. It provides a DSL for developers to quickly create good-looking administration interfaces.
+
+## Technology Stack
+
+- **Backend**: Ruby on Rails (currently Rails ~> 8.1.0)
+- **Frontend**: JavaScript (ES6+), Tailwind CSS, Flowbite
+- **Testing**: RSpec (unit tests), Cucumber (feature tests), Capybara (integration tests)
+- **Build Tools**: Rollup (JavaScript bundling), cssbundling-rails
+- **Key Dependencies**: Devise (authentication), Ransack (search), Formtastic (forms), Kaminari (pagination)
+
+## Ruby Conventions
+
+- Minimum Ruby version: 3.2+ (required)
+- Minimum Rails version: 7.2+ (required by gemspec)
+- Current development uses Rails ~> 8.1.0
+- Follow RuboCop style guide (configuration in `.rubocop.yml`)
+- RuboCop plugins enabled: capybara, packaging, performance, rails, rspec
+- Use frozen string literals: `# frozen_string_literal: true` at the top of Ruby files
+
+## JavaScript Conventions
+
+- Use ES6+ modern JavaScript syntax
+- Follow ESLint configuration (see `eslint.config.js`)
+- JavaScript source files are in `app/javascript/`
+- Build JavaScript with: `npm run build`
+- Lint JavaScript with: `npm run lint`
+
+## Testing Guidelines
+
+### Ruby Tests (RSpec)
+- Unit tests are in `spec/unit/`
+- Request specs are in `spec/requests/`
+- Helper specs are in `spec/helpers/`
+- Run RSpec tests: `bundle exec rspec`
+
+### Feature Tests (Cucumber)
+- Cucumber features are in `features/`
+- Uses Capybara with Cuprite (headless Chrome)
+- Cucumber scenarios require Chrome to be installed
+- Run Cucumber tests: `bundle exec cucumber`
+- Lint Gherkin files: `npm run gherkin-lint`
+
+### Running All Tests
+- Run the complete test suite: `bin/rake`
+- Tests run against a sample Rails app generated in `tmp/test_apps/`
+
+## Building and Development
+
+### Setup
+```bash
+bundle install
+yarn install
+```
+
+Note: The `bin/rake local server` command requires foreman, which it will invoke automatically. Install with `gem install foreman` if needed.
+
+### Testing Against Different Rails Versions
+```bash
+# Available versions: rails_72, rails_80
+export BUNDLE_GEMFILE=gemfiles/rails_72/Gemfile
+```
+
+### Local Development Server
+```bash
+bin/rake local server
+# Visit http://localhost:3000/admin
+# Login: admin@example.com / password
+```
+
+### Other Local Commands
+```bash
+bin/rake local console      # Rails console
+bin/rake local db:migrate   # Run migrations
+```
+
+## Code Organization
+
+- `lib/active_admin/` - Core framework code
+- `app/` - Rails application components (controllers, helpers, views, assets)
+- `spec/` - RSpec tests
+- `features/` - Cucumber feature tests
+- `docs/` - VitePress documentation (run with `npm run docs:dev`)
+
+## Important Guidelines
+
+1. **Minimal Changes**: Make surgical, precise changes. Don't refactor unrelated code.
+2. **Backward Compatibility**: Active Admin is a widely-used gem. Maintain backward compatibility unless explicitly breaking changes are intended.
+3. **Test Coverage**: Include tests for new features. Prefer RSpec specs (especially request specs) over Cucumber features when possible, as specs are easier to work with and maintain.
+4. **Documentation**: Update documentation in `docs/` if adding user-facing features.
+5. **Internationalization**: Support i18n - translation files are in `config/locales/`
+6. **Security**: This is an administration framework so be extra cautious with security implications.
+7. **Code Quality**: Always run `bundle exec rubocop` before submitting any PR to ensure code follows project style guidelines.
+
+## Contributing Workflow
+
+1. Create feature request discussion before starting significant new features
+2. Fork and create a descriptive branch
+3. Ensure tests pass: `bin/rake`
+4. Run linting: `bundle exec rubocop` for Ruby code, `npm run lint` for JavaScript
+5. View changes in browser: `bin/rake local server`
+6. Submit pull request with passing CI
+
+## Additional Context
+
+- This is both a Ruby gem and an npm package
+- Published to RubyGems as `activeadmin`
+- Published to npm as `@activeadmin/activeadmin`
+- The project uses both Ruby and JavaScript tooling
+- CI runs tests against multiple Rails versions
+- Code coverage tracked with SimpleCov and CodeCov