diff --git a/.github/copilot-instructions.md b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
index 6cd7101f60e1..5eca57f2bc7c 100644
--- a/.github/copilot-instructions.md
+++ b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 This repo contains Azure SDKs for various Azure services and tools that generate them.
 
 ## Prerequisites
+- Always run the [`azsdk_verify_setup`](../eng/common/instructions/azsdk-tools/verify-setup.instructions.md) tool to check the user's development environment setup for using SDK MCP tools. DO NOT PROCEED with running other tools before completing this step. Only skip for queries that don't need tools.
 - To use MCP tool calls, PowerShell must be installed. Provide [PowerShell installation instructions](https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell) if not installed, and recommend restarting the IDE to use the MCP server.
 
 ## Folder Structure