AGENTS.md examples from real projects

How real projects brief Codex, Cursor and every other agent that reads AGENTS.md.

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NousResearchAGENTS.md

hermes-agent

NousResearch/hermes-agent/AGENTS.md

Testing). - **E2E validation, not just green unit mocks.** Anything touching resolution chains, config propagation, security boundaries, remote backends, or file/network I/O must exercise the real path with real imports against

250k6mo agoReads credentialsDiscuss

NousResearchAGENTS.md

hermes-agent / hermes_cli

NousResearch/hermes-agent/hermes_cli/AGENTS.md

automatically. Top-level sections (non-exhaustive): `model, agent, terminal, compression, display, stt, tts, memory, security, delegation, smart_model_routing, checkpoints, auxiliary, curator, skills, gateway, logging, cron, profiles, plugins, honcho`. `auxiliary

250k6mo agoReads credentialsDiscuss

NousResearchAGENTS.md

hermes-agent / skills

NousResearch/hermes-agent/skills/AGENTS.md

autonomous-ai-agents, blockchain, communication, creative, devops, email, health, mcp, migration, mlops, productivity, research, security, web-development`. Reviewing a skill PR: check the target directory — heavy-dep or niche skills

250k6mo agoReads credentialsDiscuss

affaan-mAGENTS.md

ECC

affaan-m/ECC/AGENTS.md

domain tasks 2. **Test-Driven** — Write tests before implementation, 80%+ coverage required 3. **Security-First** — Never compromise on security; validate all inputs 4. **Immutability** — Always create new objects, never mutate

246k30d agoDiscuss

affaan-mAGENTS.md

ECC

affaan-m/ECC/.codex/AGENTS.md

coding, tests, formatting | GPT 5.5 | | Complex features, architecture | GPT 5.5 | | Debugging, refactoring | GPT 5.5 | | Security review | GPT 5.5 | ## Skills Discovery Skills are auto-loaded from `.agents/skills/`. Each skill contains: - `SKILL.md

246k30d agoReads credentialsDiscuss

DeepSeekAGENTS.md

deepseek-harness

deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness/AGENTS.md

DEFAULT_*` constant or test hook is not configurability. Protocol constants, external specs, and security invariants stay fixed. - **Misconfiguration fails loud** at load when self-contained, otherwise at the earliest resolvable

238k51d agoReads credentialsDiscuss

DeepSeekAGENTS.md

deepseek-harness / experimental

deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness/packages/experimental/AGENTS.md

packages through `devDependencies`; examples may load them explicitly. - Experimental status does not relax engineering, security, documentation, lifecycle, testing, invariant, or snapshot requirements. - Publishing an experimental package does not promote

238k51d agoDiscuss

n8n-ioAGENTS.md

n8n

n8n-io/n8n/AGENTS.md

ticket in Linear - use the branch name suggested by Linear, **unless it is a security fix** (see Security Fix Hygiene below) - Use mermaid diagrams in MD files when you need

206k19d agoReads credentialsDiscuss

MicrosoftAGENTS.md

vscode / references

microsoft/vscode/extensions/copilot/assets/prompts/skills/agent-customization/references/agents.md

/hooks.md)). ### Supported Events `SessionStart`, `UserPromptSubmit`, `PreToolUse`, `PostToolUse`, `PreCompact`, `SubagentStart`, `SubagentStop`, `Stop` ### Example ```yaml --- description: "Secure code reviewer that blocks dangerous commands" tools: [read, search, execute] hooks: PreToolUse: - type: command command

193k21d agoDiscuss

MicrosoftAGENTS.md

vscode / copilotcli

microsoft/vscode/extensions/copilot/src/extension/chatSessions/copilotcli/AGENTS.md

Operations * Search Operations * Agent & Task Operations * User Interaction * Code Review & Git * Data, Memory & MCP * Security ### `common/copilotCLIPrompt.ts` Parses raw user prompts and extracts structured chat prompt references (files, locations, diagnostics) ### `node/copilotcliPromptResolver.ts

193k21d agoDiscuss

MicrosoftAGENTS.md

vscode / prompts

microsoft/vscode/src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/copilot/prompts/AGENTS.md

FAMILY`, which is process-scoped and would leak across every session in the window. > **Security note.** The setting is application-scoped (not workspace-configurable) and forwarded to the agent host

193k21d agoDiscuss

Significant-GravitasAGENTS.md

AutoGPT / autogpt_platform

Significant-Gravitas/AutoGPT/autogpt_platform/AGENTS.md

Store**: Marketplace for sharing agent templates 5. **Virus Scanning**: ClamAV integration for file upload security ### Environment Configuration #### Configuration Files - **Backend**: `backend/.env.default` (defaults) → `backend/.env` (user overrides) - **Frontend**: `frontend/.env.default` (defaults) → `frontend/.env` (user

188k19d agoReads credentialsDiscuss

LangChainAGENTS.md

langchain

langchain-ai/langchain/AGENTS.md

document provides context to understand the LangChain Python project and assist with development. ## Corridor security analysis When Corridor's `analyzePlan` tool is available, create a plan and use the tool

147k7d agoReads credentialsDiscuss

DietrichGebertAGENTS.md

ponytail

DietrichGebert/ponytail/AGENTS.md

efficiency), input validation at trust boundaries, error handling that prevents data loss, security, accessibility, the calibration real hardware needs (the platform is never the spec ideal, a clock drifts

143k4mo agoDiscuss

VercelAGENTS.md

next.js

vercel/next.js/AGENTS.md

boilerplate - Double-check highlights by counting lines from 1 within each code block ### Server Security: Internal Header Filtering Next.js strips internal headers from incoming requests via `filterInternalHeaders()` in `packages/next/src/server/lib/server-ipc/utils.ts`. This

143k5mo agoReads credentialsDiscuss

MicrosoftAGENTS.md

PowerToys

microsoft/PowerToys/AGENTS.md

Top-level AI contributor guidance for developing PowerToys - a collection of Windows productivity utilities

139k8mo agoDiscuss

garrytanAGENTS.md

gstack

garrytan/gstack/AGENTS.md

/benchmark-models` | Cross-model benchmark for skills (Claude, GPT, Gemini side-by-side). | | `/cso` | Supported security findings with explicit coverage. Static assessment remains available without catalog profiles; contained runtime/scanner execution requires

134k6d agoDeletes or force-pushesDiscuss

MicrosoftAGENTS.md

generative-ai-for-beginners

microsoft/generative-ai-for-beginners/AGENTS.md

Guide](./00-course-setup/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) - [Contributing Guidelines](./CONTRIBUTING.md) - [Code of Conduct](./CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md) - [Security Policy](./SECURITY.md) - [Azure AI Discord](https://aka.ms/genai-discord?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) - [Collection of Advanced Code Samples](https://aka.ms

121k3mo agoReads credentialsDiscuss

MicrosoftAGENTS.md

generative-ai-for-beginners / en

microsoft/generative-ai-for-beginners/translations/en/AGENTS.md

121k3mo agoReads credentialsDiscuss

MicrosoftAGENTS.md

generative-ai-for-beginners / ja

microsoft/generative-ai-for-beginners/translations/ja/AGENTS.md

121k3mo agoReads credentialsDiscuss

About AGENTS.md

What is AGENTS.md?

An open format for instructions to coding agents, read by Codex, Cursor and others. Think of it as a README written for agents.

Where does it go?

At the repository root, with more specific files in subdirectories. Agents read the one closest to the file they're editing.

What should it contain?

Setup and test commands, code style, and the rules a new contributor would need to know.

Does Claude Code read it?

Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md. A one-line CLAUDE.md that points at AGENTS.md covers both.