AGENTS.md

What is AGENTS.md?

AGENTS.md is a simple, open format for guiding AI coding agents. Think of it as a README for agents — a dedicated place in your repo to provide context and instructions that help AI coding agents work effectively on your project.

Adoption: 60,000+ open-source repositories Stewarded by: Agentic AI Foundation (Linux Foundation) Website: agents.md

Why Use It?

Your README.md is for humans. AGENTS.md is for AI agents. It tells them:

• How to build and test your project
• Your coding conventions and style rules
• What to watch out for
• How the project is structured

Supported Agents

Agent	Reads AGENTS.md
Claude Code	✅
Cursor	✅
GitHub Copilot	✅
OpenAI Codex	✅
Gemini CLI	✅
Devin	✅
Windsurf	✅
Amp	✅
AdaL CLI	✅
Factory.ai	✅
Cline	✅
Roo Code	✅

How to Write One

Create an AGENTS.md file in your project root:

AGENTS.md

## Build & Test
- Install: `npm install`
- Dev: `npm run dev`
- Test: `npm test`
- Build: `npm run build`

## Code Style
- TypeScript strict mode
- Functional components with hooks
- Named exports preferred
- Use Zod for runtime validation

## Architecture
- `/src/components/` — React components
- `/src/lib/` — Utility functions
- `/src/api/` — API routes

Advanced: Nested Files

For monorepos, place AGENTS.md files in subdirectories:

my-monorepo/
├── AGENTS.md           ← Root-level instructions
├── packages/
│   ├── frontend/
│   │   └── AGENTS.md   ← Frontend-specific
│   └── backend/
│       └── AGENTS.md   ← Backend-specific

vs Other Formats

Feature	AGENTS.md	CLAUDE.md	.cursorrules
Universal	✅	❌	❌
Foundation-backed	✅	❌	❌
Nested support	✅	✅	✅

Recommendation: Use AGENTS.md as your base, then add agent-specific files for fine-tuning.

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