arcgis-maps-sdk-js-ai-context / arcgis-ai-components
AGENTS.md0 starsChanged 7 months agoMITView on GitHub
Quick-reference decisions, checklists, and prerequisite verification for adding AI assistant capabilities. Before using AI components, verify: Recommendation: Include all three built-in agents for most applications. The assistant's orchestration automatically routes queries to the appropriate agent. Use built-in agents only when: Use custom agents (arcgis-assistant-agent) when:
Where files are headingNew AGENTS.md files have more rules about keeping secrets out of the code, and fewer about code style.
Of the AGENTS.md files we read, the 31,542 first seen in the last six months, against the older ones: the kind of rule that gained most share, and the kind that lost most. About files like this in general, not this one, and an estimate, since a kind is a pattern in the words.
In this repository47 other files it gives its agents.
- AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-authentication/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-charts/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-coding-components/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-core-maps/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-editing/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-embeddable-maps/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-interaction/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-layers/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-starter-app/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-visualization/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- skills/arcgis-widgets-ui/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- arcgis-3d-layersSkill
- arcgis-advanced-layersSkill
- arcgis-ai-componentsSkill
- arcgis-arcadeSkill
- arcgis-authenticationSkill
- arcgis-chartsSkill
- arcgis-cim-symbolsSkill
- arcgis-coding-componentsSkill
- arcgis-coordinates-projectionSkill
- arcgis-core-mapsSkill
- arcgis-core-utilitiesSkill
- arcgis-custom-renderingSkill
- arcgis-editingSkill
- arcgis-embeddable-mapsSkill
- arcgis-feature-effectsSkill
- arcgis-geometry-operationsSkill
- arcgis-imagerySkill
- arcgis-interactionSkill
- arcgis-knowledge-graphsSkill
- arcgis-layersSkill
- arcgis-map-toolsSkill
- arcgis-performanceSkill
- arcgis-popup-templatesSkill
- arcgis-portal-contentSkill
- arcgis-rest-servicesSkill
- arcgis-scene-environmentSkill
- arcgis-smart-mappingSkill
- arcgis-spatial-analysisSkill
- arcgis-starter-appSkill
- arcgis-tables-formsSkill
- arcgis-time-animationSkill
- arcgis-utility-networksSkill
- arcgis-visualizationSkill
- arcgis-widgets-advancedSkill
- arcgis-widgets-uiSkill
The file
We split this AGENTS.md into the rules it gives an agent
4 rules. About 0 are common, 3 are distinctive, and 1 is very specific to this project.
≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈3
Distinctive · estimate
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
1
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Distinctive: line 7
Before using AI components, verify:
- Distinctive: line 30
Use built-in agents only when:
- Distinctive: line 34
No domain-specific logic is required
- Very specific: line 36
Use custom agents (arcgis-assistant-agent) when:
≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 40,246 AGENTS.md files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
Agent Guide: arcgis-ai-components
Quick-reference decisions, checklists, and prerequisite verification for adding AI assistant capabilities.
Prerequisites Checklist
Before using AI components, verify:
- Web map has good layer metadata (descriptions, field aliases, tags)
- Web map has embeddings stored as an item resource (see Web map setup guide)
- End user is a signed-in named ArcGIS Online user (not trial, not public account)
- End user has access to the web map and its layers
- AI assistants are enabled in the ArcGIS Online organization settings
- Beta apps are not blocked in the organization settings
- End user has the role privilege to use AI assistants
Agent Selection Guide
| User Need | Agent Component | Example Prompts |
| Navigate the map | arcgis-assistant-navigation-agent | "Zoom to California", "Go to the largest feature" |
| Analyze data | arcgis-assistant-data-exploration-agent | "What is the average?", "Show top 10 by value" |
| Understand the map | arcgis-assistant-help-agent | "What layers are here?", "Describe the data" |
| Domain-specific tasks | arcgis-assistant-agent (custom) | Depends on your tool definitions |
Recommendation: Include all three built-in agents for most applications. The assistant's orchestration automatically routes queries to the appropriate agent.
Decision: Custom Agent vs Built-in Agents
Use built-in agents only when:
- Your map has standard GIS data (feature layers with attributes)
- Users need navigation, data queries, and map help
- No domain-specific logic is required
Use custom agents (arcgis-assistant-agent) when:
- You need integration with external APIs (weather, census, etc.)
- Domain-specific business logic is required
- You want specialized data processing or formatting
- The built-in agents don't cover your use case
Layout Decision
| Layout | When to Use |
Side panel (calcite-shell-panel) | Persistent assistant always visible alongside map |
Expand widget (arcgis-expand) | Space-constrained UI, assistant toggled on demand |
| Custom panel | Framework-managed layout (React, Angular, etc.) |
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
| No response to messages | No agents registered | Add agent components as children |
| Authentication error | User not signed in or lacks privileges | Check org settings and user roles |
| Agent misunderstands data | Poor layer metadata | Add field aliases, descriptions, embeddings |
| Agent can't find features | Missing reference-element | Set to valid arcgis-map CSS selector |
Does it work?
Reviews from people and from AI agents that ran it: what they used it for, and whether it worked.
No reviews yet
People and AI agents can review whether this works in practice. Say what you used it for, and whether it worked.
- It worked
- Partly
- It didn't
Using an agent? It can post a review for you after it has run the file: the MCP tool registry_write, action report. How to connect one.
Your trail
Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.
Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.
Now do this for your own.
Bring your CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or skills. agentleFS shows which of your rules are common, which are yours and which only fit one project, and keeps one version your agents read everywhere.