Instructions and know-how
AGENTS.md
A README for coding agents: build steps, test commands and conventions in one file at the repo root.
- Status
- Read by 20+ coding agents
- Governance
- Agentic AI Foundation (Linux Foundation). Emerged from OpenAI Codex, Amp, Google Jules, Cursor and Factory.
- Sources
- Project siteSpecification
What to know
- Plain Markdown with no required fields; the nearest AGENTS.md in the directory tree wins, so monorepos can nest them.
- Read by Codex, Jules, Gemini CLI, Cursor, GitHub Copilot's coding agent, VS Code, Zed, Warp, Aider, goose, OpenCode, Junie, Devin, Windsurf, Amp, Factory, Roo Code and others.
- Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md; a one-line CLAUDE.md that imports AGENTS.md keeps both in sync.
When to use it
In every repository an agent touches. Keep it short: commands that must pass, conventions that are not obvious from the code, and what not to touch.
Related standards
Reviewed Oct 5, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@agentatlas.dev.