Ecosystem Landscape
Last Updated: 2026-08-14 Managed by SylphAI · Built with AdaL CLI
By August 2026 the ecosystem covers 23 profiled agents, 5+ config formats, 3 protocols (MCP, ACP, and @skills), and a growing set of skill catalogues. This document maps it.
Three things changed over the first half of 2026. Agents moved from the editor to the terminal and then off the machine entirely, into cloud runners and messaging platforms. Governance shifted: MCP, AGENTS.md, and Goose now sit under the Linux Foundation’s Agentic AI Foundation rather than with their original vendors. And skills became the third layer of the stack, after tools and project context.
1. Coding Agents
Section titled “1. Coding Agents”Every agent below has its own profile — follow the name for pricing, trade-offs, and setup.
| Agent | Maintainer | Type | Pricing | Protocol | Key Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AdaL CLI | SylphAI | Terminal + Desktop + Web | Free + Pro/Max | MCP, @skills | Worker agents, native @skills |
| Claude Code | Anthropic | Terminal + IDE ext | Usage-based | MCP | Deep reasoning, agentic coding |
| Codex | OpenAI | CLI + Desktop + Cloud | Subscription or API | MCP | Cloud sandboxing, parallel tasks |
| Cursor | Anysphere | IDE + CLI | $20/mo+ | MCP | IDE integration, composer |
| GitHub Copilot | GitHub | IDE plugin + agent | $10–39/mo | MCP | GitHub ecosystem, ubiquity |
| Gemini CLI | Terminal | Free tier | MCP | Google ecosystem, free tier | |
| Antigravity | Agent-first IDE | Free tier / Pro | MCP, Skills | Multi-agent orchestration | |
| Windsurf | Cognition | IDE | $15/mo+ | Custom | Cascade flow, context engine |
| Devin | Cognition | Cloud agent | Enterprise | Custom | Full autonomy, browser use |
| Amp | Sourcegraph | Terminal + IDE ext | Usage-based | ACP | Codebase search, ACP native |
| Cline | Cline | VS Code ext | Free (OSS) | MCP | Open source, explicit approvals |
| OpenCode | SST | Terminal TUI | Free (BYOK) | MCP | Provider-agnostic harness |
| Pi | earendil-works | Terminal | Free (BYOK) | MCP | Minimal system prompt |
| Hermes | Nous Research | Terminal + messaging | Free (OSS) | MCP, ACP | Self-improving, writes its own skills |
| OpenClaw | OpenClaw Foundation | Daemon + messaging | Free (OSS) | MCP | 29 messaging channels, local |
| Droid | Factory | Terminal + IDE | Commercial | MCP | Terminal-Bench leader, specialized droids |
| Kiro | AWS | CLI + IDE | Commercial | MCP | Spec-driven development |
| Goose | Agentic AI Foundation | Terminal + desktop | Free (OSS) | MCP | Neutral governance, MCP proving ground |
| Kilo Code | Kilo | IDE ext + CLI | Free (BYOK) | MCP | 500+ models, zero-markup BYOK |
| Qoder | Alibaba | IDE + JetBrains + CLI | Free tier | MCP | Quest workflows, persistent repo knowledge |
| Trae | ByteDance | AI-native IDE | Free tier | MCP | 6M+ users, open CLI agent |
| Freebuff | Codebuff | Terminal + web | Free (ad-funded) | — | Free with no API key |
| Roo Code | Roo Code Inc | VS Code ext | Archived May 2026 | MCP | Superseded by Kilo Code |
Also in the field, not yet profiled: Aider, Continue, OpenHands, Warp, Jules, Zed, Crush, Plandex, Qwen Code, Kimi CLI, and Amazon Q Developer CLI.
2. Configuration Formats
Section titled “2. Configuration Formats”2.1 AGENTS.md (Universal Standard)
Section titled “2.1 AGENTS.md (Universal Standard)”- Owner: OpenAI → Agentic AI Foundation (Linux Foundation)
- Adoption: 60,000+ open-source repositories
- Purpose: Universal agent instructions — build commands, test workflows, coding conventions
- Supported by: Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex, Gemini CLI, Devin, Windsurf, Amp, AdaL, Factory, Cline, Roo Code
- Website: agents.md
- Spec: Standard Markdown, no proprietary syntax
- Key feature: Nested files for monorepos
2.2 CLAUDE.md (Anthropic)
Section titled “2.2 CLAUDE.md (Anthropic)”- Owner: Anthropic
- Purpose: Claude Code-specific project memory and instructions
- Supported by: Claude Code exclusively
- Location: Project root,
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md(global), or nested - Key feature: Hierarchical — global + project + directory level
- Relationship to AGENTS.md: Claude Code reads both; CLAUDE.md takes precedence for Claude-specific instructions
2.3 .cursorrules / Rules (Cursor)
Section titled “2.3 .cursorrules / Rules (Cursor)”- Owner: Anysphere (Cursor)
- Purpose: Cursor-specific coding rules and preferences
- Supported by: Cursor exclusively
- Location:
.cursorrulesfile or.cursor/rules/directory - Key feature: Project Rules, User Rules, Team Rules hierarchy
- Relationship to AGENTS.md: Cursor now also reads AGENTS.md
2.4 copilot-instructions.md (GitHub)
Section titled “2.4 copilot-instructions.md (GitHub)”- Owner: Microsoft / GitHub
- Purpose: Copilot custom instructions
- Supported by: Copilot
- Location:
.github/copilot-instructions.md - Key feature: Integrated with GitHub repository settings
- Relationship to AGENTS.md: Copilot also reads AGENTS.md
2.5 SKILL.md / Skills Format (Vercel + Claude)
Section titled “2.5 SKILL.md / Skills Format (Vercel + Claude)”- Owner: Vercel (skills.sh), Anthropic (Claude skills)
- Purpose: Reusable agent capabilities — packaged instructions + scripts
- Supported by: Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Gemini, and others via skills.sh
- Location:
.claude/skills/(Claude) or installed vianpx skills add - Registry: skills.sh — 35,000+ installs
- Key feature: NPM-like install, leaderboard, cross-agent compatibility
Format Comparison Matrix
Section titled “Format Comparison Matrix”| Feature | AGENTS.md | CLAUDE.md | .cursorrules | copilot-instructions.md | SKILL.md |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universal | ✅ | ❌ Claude only | ❌ Cursor only | ❌ Copilot only | ⚠️ Multi-agent |
| Nested/hierarchical | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Includes scripts | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Registry | ❌ | ❌ | Community (GitHub) | ❌ | ✅ skills.sh |
| Foundation-backed | ✅ Linux Foundation | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Standard Markdown | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ + YAML |
3. Protocols
Section titled “3. Protocols”3.1 MCP — Model Context Protocol
Section titled “3.1 MCP — Model Context Protocol”- Owner: Anthropic
- Purpose: Standardized protocol for connecting AI models to external tools and data sources
- Adoption: Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, AdaL CLI, Cline, Roo Code, and more
- Key feature: Tool servers that any MCP-compatible client can use
- Analogy: “USB-C for AI” — one protocol, many tools
- Website: modelcontextprotocol.io
3.2 ACP — Agent Client Protocol
Section titled “3.2 ACP — Agent Client Protocol”- Owner: Zed Industries + JetBrains
- Purpose: Open standard for AI coding agents to integrate with any editor
- Adoption: Amp, JetBrains AI, Zed, growing ecosystem
- Key feature: Agent Registry — register once, available everywhere
- Registry: ACP Registry
- Website: zed.dev/acp
Protocol Comparison
Section titled “Protocol Comparison”| Feature | MCP | ACP |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Model ↔ Tool connection | Agent ↔ Editor connection |
| Initiated by | Anthropic | Zed + JetBrains |
| Registry | Community MCP servers | Official ACP Registry |
| Primary adopters | Claude, Cursor, Gemini | Amp, JetBrains, Zed |
| Open source | ✅ | ✅ |
| Complementary? | ✅ They solve different problems | ✅ |
4. Registries & Directories
Section titled “4. Registries & Directories”4.1 skills.sh (Vercel)
Section titled “4.1 skills.sh (Vercel)”- URL: skills.sh
- What it is: NPM-like directory for AI agent skills
- Scale: 35,000+ total installs, 200+ skills listed
- Install:
npx skills add <owner/repo> - Features: Leaderboard (all-time, trending, hot), cross-agent compatibility
- Top skills: vercel-react-best-practices (72K installs), seo-audit, marketing-strategy
4.2 ACP Registry (Zed/JetBrains)
Section titled “4.2 ACP Registry (Zed/JetBrains)”- URL: zed.dev/acp + registry.coder.com
- What it is: Directory of ACP-compatible coding agents
- How to list: Submit a PR to the registry repo
- Integration: Built into JetBrains IDEs and Zed editor
4.3 codingagents.md (SylphAI) — THIS PROJECT
Section titled “4.3 codingagents.md (SylphAI) — THIS PROJECT”- URL: codingagents.md
- What it is: The aggregator hub — covers ALL agents, formats, protocols, and registries
- Differentiator: Neutral, comprehensive, content-first
5. Ecosystem Trends (Feb 2026)
Section titled “5. Ecosystem Trends (Feb 2026)”5.1 Convergence on AGENTS.md
Section titled “5.1 Convergence on AGENTS.md”Nearly every agent now reads AGENTS.md files. The format has become the de facto standard for project-level agent instructions, with 60K+ repos adopting it. Agent-specific formats (CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules) continue to exist for fine-tuning but AGENTS.md provides the universal baseline.
5.2 Skills as the New Packages
Section titled “5.2 Skills as the New Packages”Vercel’s skills.sh has established the pattern of “npm for agents” — reusable, installable capabilities. Claude Code’s native .claude/skills/ directory follows the same pattern. Expect skills to become as fundamental as npm packages.
5.3 Protocol Coexistence
Section titled “5.3 Protocol Coexistence”MCP and ACP solve different problems and are complementary. MCP connects models to tools; ACP connects agents to editors. Most agents will support both.
5.4 Autonomous Agents Rising
Section titled “5.4 Autonomous Agents Rising”Devin, Factory.ai, and OpenAI Codex are pushing toward fully autonomous coding — agents that can work independently for hours. This shifts the paradigm from “AI-assisted coding” to “AI coding with human review.”
5.5 Multi-Agent Workflows
Section titled “5.5 Multi-Agent Workflows”57% of companies now run AI agents in production. The next frontier is orchestrating multiple agents — e.g., one for planning, one for coding, one for testing. codingagent.md will document these emerging patterns.
Contributing
Section titled “Contributing”This landscape is community-maintained. To add or update an agent, format, or protocol:
- Fork the codingagent.md repo
- Edit the relevant file in
docs/ - Submit a Pull Request