AGENTS.md generator
Fill in what an agent can't work out on its own (how to build, how to test, what not to touch) and get a clean AGENTS.md. Pick a starting point, then edit every line; the preset commands are common defaults, not read from your project.
AGENTS.md
What AGENTS.md is
AGENTS.md is an open format for giving coding agents project context, now stewarded by the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation. It is plain Markdown: no frontmatter and no required sections. Tools such as Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot's coding agent, Devin and Zed read it from the repository root, and a nested AGENTS.md applies to its own directory, with the closest file winning.
What to put in it
- Commands first. Install, build, test and lint commands are what agents need most often. Include how to run a single test if it differs.
- Things the code doesn't say. Conventions, architecture decisions and the reasons behind them. Skip generic advice like “write clean code”.
- Boundaries. Generated folders, files that must not change, and actions that need a human (migrations, releases).
- Keep it short. A focused file is followed more reliably than a long one. Put area-specific rules in a nested AGENTS.md instead.
Example output
With the Next.js preset and a project name, the generator produces:
# acme-web
Customer dashboard built with Next.js.
## Commands
- Install: `npm install`
- Dev server: `npm run dev`
- Build: `npm run build`
- Test: `npm test`
- Lint / type-check: `npm run lint`
## Project structure
- app/ — routes (App Router)
- components/ — shared React components
- lib/ — utilities and data access
## Code style
- TypeScript strict mode; avoid `any`.
- Server Components by default; add "use client" only when a component needs browser APIs or state.
- Use named exports for components.
## Testing
- Add or update tests for every behaviour change.
- Run the test and lint commands before finishing a task.Use it with other tools
Claude Code reads AGENTS.md only when there is no CLAUDE.md; a one-line CLAUDE.md with @AGENTS.md makes it load in every case. Use
Convert to other formats above, or the CLAUDE.md ↔ AGENTS.md converter with bridge
files, to set that up. Already have Cursor rules? Convert them to AGENTS.md instead of starting from
scratch.
Not sure which file your tools read? See which file each AI coding tool reads.