What is AGENTS.md?
Definition & Overview
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 AGENTS.md Matters
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.
How AGENTS.md Works
Parsed automatically by agentic AI coding tools upon workspace initialization.
Core Components & Mechanisms
Architectural Declaration
Listing core directory structures, entry points, and technology stacks.
Operational Guidelines
Defining build commands, testing requirements, and coding conventions.
Constraints & Rules
Explicitly forbidding anti-patterns, unauthorized libraries, or dangerous commands.
AGENTS.md vs LLMs.txt
llms.txt provides clean Markdown documentation for AI content extraction, whereas AGENTS.md defines instructions and operational rules for autonomous AI coding agents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should AGENTS.md be located?
AGENTS.md should be placed at the root directory of your project or website repository.
Articles & Research Referencing AGENTS.md
How to Start Winning AI Visibility Within Days
Practical 90-day playbook for winning brand citations in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.
AEO & GEO Myths Fact-Checked (70 Claims)
70 AEO/GEO claims tested against 350+ primary search research papers.
How to Use Reddit for SEO & AI Citations
Leveraging Reddit user discussions to build entity authority inside AI search indices.
Why SaaS Teams Need Unified Analytics
Unifying AI citation discovery with product conversion funnels.
Get cited across ChatGPT, Perplexity & Gemini with citedby
Optimize your brand’s AI visibility score, track Share of Model across buyer prompts, and turn zero-click search into your highest-converting pipeline source.
Explore citedby Platform