diff --git a/.github/copilot-instructions.md b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9610ab4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
@@ -0,0 +1,250 @@
+# WeAllCode Website - Django Application
+
+**ALWAYS reference these instructions first and fallback to search or bash commands only when you encounter unexpected information that does not match the info here.**
+
+WeAllCode is a Django web application for a nonprofit coding education organization that provides free educational resources and hands-on classes for children aged 7-17. The application manages class scheduling, user authentication, donations, and organizational content.
+
+## Working Effectively
+
+### Environment Setup & Build Process
+**IMPORTANT**: Follow these exact steps to set up a working development environment:
+
+1. **Copy environment configuration**:
+   ```bash
+   cp .env.sample .env
+   ```
+
+2. **Generate SECRET_KEY**:
+   ```bash
+   python -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_urlsafe())"
+   ```
+   Then update `.env` file with: `SECRET_KEY="<generated-key>"`
+
+3. **Install uv package manager**:
+   ```bash
+   pip install uv
+   ```
+
+4. **Install Python 3.11 (required version)**:
+   ```bash
+   uv python install 3.11
+   ```
+
+5. **Install dependencies** - takes ~2.5 minutes. NEVER CANCEL:
+   ```bash
+   uv sync
+   ```
+   Set timeout to 5+ minutes.
+
+6. **Setup PostgreSQL database**:
+   ```bash
+   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y postgresql postgresql-contrib
+   sudo systemctl start postgresql && sudo systemctl enable postgresql
+   sudo -u postgres createdb weallcode_local
+   sudo -u postgres psql -c "ALTER USER postgres PASSWORD 'postgres';"
+   ```
+
+7. **Update .env for local database**:
+   ```
+   DB_HOST=localhost
+   DB_NAME=weallcode_local
+   DB_USER=postgres
+   DB_PASSWORD=postgres
+   ```
+
+8. **Create environment setup script** (required due to compatibility issues):
+   ```bash
+   cat > setup_env.sh << 'EOF'
+   #!/bin/bash
+   set -a
+   source .env
+   set +a
+   export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=${AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID:-PLACEHOLDER}
+   export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=${AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY:-PLACEHOLDER}
+   export AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME=${AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME:-PLACEHOLDER}
+   export SENDGRID_API_KEY=${SENDGRID_API_KEY:-PLACEHOLDER}
+   export DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=${DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL:-hello+local@weallcode.org}
+   export CONTACT_EMAIL=${CONTACT_EMAIL:-hello+local@weallcode.org}
+   export SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL=${SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL:-PLACEHOLDER}
+   export SLACK_ALERTS_CHANNEL=${SLACK_ALERTS_CHANNEL:-PLACEHOLDER}
+   export SENTRY_DSN=${SENTRY_DSN:-}
+   export RECAPTCHA_PUBLIC_KEY=${RECAPTCHA_PUBLIC_KEY:-}
+   export RECAPTCHA_PRIVATE_KEY=${RECAPTCHA_PRIVATE_KEY:-}
+   export META_SITE_PROTOCOL=${META_SITE_PROTOCOL:-http}
+   export META_SITE_DOMAIN=${META_SITE_DOMAIN:-localhost:8000}
+   export META_TWITTER_SITE=${META_TWITTER_SITE:-@weallcode}
+   export META_FB_APPID=${META_FB_APPID:-1454178301519376}
+   export DEFAULT_META_TITLE=${DEFAULT_META_TITLE:-We All Code}
+   source .venv/bin/activate
+   exec "$@"
+   EOF
+   chmod +x setup_env.sh
+   ```
+
+9. **Verify Django setup**:
+   ```bash
+   ./setup_env.sh python manage.py check
+   ```
+
+10. **Run database migrations** - takes ~4 seconds:
+    ```bash
+    ./setup_env.sh python manage.py migrate
+    ```
+
+11. **Load development fixtures** - takes ~1.5 seconds:
+    ```bash
+    ./setup_env.sh python manage.py loaddata fixtures/*.json
+    ```
+
+### Docker Setup (Alternative - Has SSL Issues)
+**WARNING**: Docker build currently fails due to SSL certificate issues with PyPI in sandboxed environments.
+
+```bash
+# This fails due to SSL issues - documented for future reference
+docker compose up --build  # FAILS: SSL certificate verification
+```
+
+Use the local Python setup above instead.
+
+## Running the Application
+
+### Development Server
+```bash
+./setup_env.sh python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
+```
+- Access at: http://localhost:8000
+- **ALWAYS** use the `setup_env.sh` wrapper script - direct Django commands will fail due to missing environment variables
+
+### Production-like Server (using invoke tasks)
+```bash
+./setup_env.sh invoke start  # Uses gunicorn
+```
+
+### Common Invoke Tasks
+```bash
+./setup_env.sh invoke --list                    # List all available tasks
+./setup_env.sh invoke migrate                   # Run migrations  
+./setup_env.sh invoke load-fixtures             # Load fixtures
+./setup_env.sh invoke collect-static            # Collect static files
+./setup_env.sh invoke release                   # Full release process (migrate + fixtures + static)
+```
+
+## Testing
+
+### Unit Tests
+**NOTE**: Unit tests currently have issues with debug toolbar and missing dependencies:
+```bash
+./setup_env.sh python manage.py test --debug-mode
+# Known issues: debug toolbar conflicts, missing pytz dependency
+```
+
+### Linting - takes ~0.04 seconds:
+```bash
+./setup_env.sh ruff check .                     # Check for style issues
+./setup_env.sh ruff check . --fix               # Auto-fix issues
+./setup_env.sh ruff format .                    # Format code
+```
+
+### Pre-commit Hooks
+```bash
+pip install pre-commit
+pre-commit run --all-files
+```
+
+### End-to-End Tests (Cypress)
+Located in `/test` directory with Node.js package:
+```bash
+cd test
+npm install                                     # Install Cypress dependencies
+npm run test                                    # Run headless tests
+npm start                                       # Open Cypress GUI
+```
+Requires Node.js 18.15.0+ as specified in test/package.json.
+
+## Development Accounts
+
+The application includes test accounts loaded via fixtures:
+
+- **Admin**: `admin@sink.sendgrid.net` / `admin`
+- **Mentor**: `mentor@sink.sendgrid.net` / `mentor`  
+- **Guardian**: `guardian@sink.sendgrid.net` / `guardian`
+
+**NOTE**: These accounts may not work in development fixtures - create new accounts via the signup flow.
+
+## Known Issues & Workarounds
+
+### Storage Backend Compatibility
+The application has a temporary fix for django-storages compatibility:
+- `SpooledTemporaryFile` import is disabled in `coderdojochi/settings.py`
+- This affects S3 storage in production but not local development
+
+### Docker SSL Issues
+Docker builds fail in sandboxed environments due to SSL certificate verification:
+```
+Error: certificate verify failed: self-signed certificate in certificate chain
+```
+Use local Python setup instead.
+
+### Debug Toolbar
+Causes test failures - configure `DEBUG_TOOLBAR_CONFIG['IS_RUNNING_TESTS'] = False` if needed.
+
+## Validation
+
+**ALWAYS** validate changes by:
+1. Running `./setup_env.sh python manage.py check`
+2. Starting the development server successfully
+3. Accessing http://localhost:8000 and verifying the homepage loads
+4. Running linting: `./setup_env.sh ruff check .`
+5. Testing login functionality at `/account/login/`
+
+## Key Project Structure
+
+```
+/
+├── .env                     # Environment configuration (create from .env.sample)
+├── manage.py               # Django management script  
+├── setup_env.sh           # Environment wrapper script (create this)
+├── pyproject.toml         # Python dependencies
+├── tasks.py               # Invoke task definitions
+├── docker-compose.yml     # Docker setup (has SSL issues)
+├── coderdojochi/          # Main Django app
+│   ├── settings.py        # Django settings
+│   ├── urls.py           # URL routing
+│   └── migrations/       # Database migrations
+├── weallcode/            # Secondary Django app
+├── accounts/             # User account management
+├── fixtures/             # Development data
+└── test/                 # Cypress E2E tests
+    └── package.json      # Node.js dependencies
+```
+
+## Always Use These Commands
+
+**CRITICAL**: Always prefix Django commands with `./setup_env.sh` or they will fail:
+
+✅ **CORRECT**:
+```bash
+./setup_env.sh python manage.py migrate
+./setup_env.sh python manage.py runserver
+./setup_env.sh invoke start
+```
+
+❌ **INCORRECT** (will fail):
+```bash
+python manage.py migrate                        # Missing environment variables
+docker compose up --build                       # SSL certificate issues
+```
+
+## Time Expectations
+
+Set appropriate timeouts for these operations:
+- **uv sync**: ~2.5 minutes (set 5+ minute timeout)
+- **Database migrations**: ~4 seconds  
+- **Loading fixtures**: ~1.5 seconds
+- **Ruff linting**: ~0.04 seconds
+- **Django server startup**: ~2 seconds
+- **Django check**: ~1 second
+
+**NEVER CANCEL** long-running operations like `uv sync` - they need time to complete.
+
+Fixes #1519.
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diff --git a/setup_env.sh b/setup_env.sh
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@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Setup script for WeAllCode Django application
+
+# Load environment variables from .env file
+set -a
+source .env
+set +a
+
+# Set any missing variables with placeholder values
+export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=${AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID:-PLACEHOLDER}
+export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=${AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY:-PLACEHOLDER}
+export AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME=${AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME:-PLACEHOLDER}
+export SENDGRID_API_KEY=${SENDGRID_API_KEY:-PLACEHOLDER}
+export DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=${DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL:-hello+local@weallcode.org}
+export CONTACT_EMAIL=${CONTACT_EMAIL:-hello+local@weallcode.org}
+export SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL=${SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL:-PLACEHOLDER}
+export SLACK_ALERTS_CHANNEL=${SLACK_ALERTS_CHANNEL:-PLACEHOLDER}
+export SENTRY_DSN=${SENTRY_DSN:-}
+export RECAPTCHA_PUBLIC_KEY=${RECAPTCHA_PUBLIC_KEY:-}
+export RECAPTCHA_PRIVATE_KEY=${RECAPTCHA_PRIVATE_KEY:-}
+export META_SITE_PROTOCOL=${META_SITE_PROTOCOL:-http}
+export META_SITE_DOMAIN=${META_SITE_DOMAIN:-localhost:8000}
+export META_TWITTER_SITE=${META_TWITTER_SITE:-@weallcode}
+export META_FB_APPID=${META_FB_APPID:-1454178301519376}
+export DEFAULT_META_TITLE=${DEFAULT_META_TITLE:-We All Code}
+
+# Activate virtual environment
+source .venv/bin/activate
+
+# Run the command passed as arguments
+exec "$@"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 834ce08e..b4904b15 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 version = 1
-revision = 2
+revision = 3
 requires-python = "==3.11.*"
 
 [[package]]
@@ -923,7 +923,7 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "django-cleanup", specifier = ">=9.0.0,<10.0.0" },
     { name = "django-common-helpers", specifier = ">=0.9.2,<1.0.0" },
     { name = "django-cron", specifier = ">=0.6.0,<0.7.0" },
-    { name = "django-debug-toolbar", specifier = ">=5.2.0,<6.0.0" },
+    { name = "django-debug-toolbar", specifier = ">=5.2.0,<7.0.0" },
     { name = "django-environ", specifier = ">=0.12.0,<0.13.0" },
     { name = "django-fullurl", specifier = ">=1.4,<2.0" },
     { name = "django-heroku", specifier = ">=0.3.1,<0.4.0" },