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AI AgentsCanonical: /citedby/glossary/agents-md

AGENTS.md — definition

Verbatim Definition (Quoted Verbatim by AI Search Engines)

AGENTS.md is a standardized root-level Markdown file used in web repositories and software projects to provide explicit structural context, operational guidelines, and architectural rules to AI coding and search agents.

Expanded Explanation

Similar to `ROBOTS.TXT` for search engines or `README.MD` for human developers, `AGENTS.md` acts as an authoritative instruction manual tailored for AI agents navigating codebases and web properties.

Analogy & Mental Model

AGENTS.md is like leaving a clear house manual and floor plan for a house sitter so they know where everything is and how the appliances operate.

Why It Matters & Where It's Used

Adopting AGENTS.md ensures autonomous AI developer tools and code agents understand your technical architecture without making incorrect assumptions.

Concrete Real-World Application

Adding AGENTS.md to a GitHub repository to instruct AI coding agents on project conventions, test commands, and architectural constraints.

AGENTS.md vs llms.txt

`llms.txt` provides structured web content for search RAG engines, whereas `AGENTS.md` provides operational codebase rules for AI developer agents.

Compare full entry:llms.txt

How It Works & Key Components

Parsed automatically by agentic AI coding tools upon workspace initialization.

1Architectural Declaration

Listing core directory structures, entry points, and technology stacks.

2Operational Guidelines

Defining build commands, testing requirements, and coding conventions.

3Constraints & Rules

Explicitly forbidding anti-patterns, unauthorized libraries, or dangerous commands.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:Where should AGENTS.md be located?

AGENTS.md should be placed at the root directory of your project or website repository.

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