fable-seed
Skill33 starsChanged 5 months agoMITView on GitHub
Generate or refresh a local AGENTS.md for a module by reading the code that already exists, so later work follows the project's real conventions instead of model defaults. Use when starting work in an unfamiliar module, when conventions keep getting violated, or when asked to "seed", "init", or "write AGENTS.md for" a directory. Pulled on demand; not always-on.
In this repository8 other files it gives its agents.
- AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- CLAUDE.mdCLAUDE.md
- llms.txtllms.txt
- fable-delivery-gateSkill
- fable-evidence-doneSkill
- fable-planSkill
- fable-reviewSkill
- fable-scope-guardSkill
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
2 rules. About 0 are common, 2 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.
≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈2
Distinctive · estimate
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
0
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Distinctive: line 33
Only what the code shows: If a convention isn't evidenced, leave it out.
- Distinctive: line 35
Don't clobber: If an AGENTS.md exists, show the change as a diff and merge — never silently replace a human-written file.
≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 350,495 skill 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
fable-seed — write the AGENTS.md the code already implies
The highest-value, lowest-effort thing before working in a module is to surface its conventions into a
local file the work sits next to. In a controlled A/B (eval/technique-ab/, GPT-5.5-judged), a short
local AGENTS.md stating a module's convention raised oracle adherence from 33% (no seed) to 100%
(hand-written), and a file auto-generated by reading the module's existing code reached 89%
(and 100% on the deterministic regex check). So auto-generation preserves ~89% of the hand-written lift.
Your job: read what's there, write down the rules it already follows — do not invent conventions the code doesn't show.
When NOT to use this
- A trivial one-file change, or a repo that already has good
AGENTS.mdcoverage → just read it and work. - You haven't read any of the module's code yet → read first; a seed written from a guess is worse than none.
Procedure
- Pick the scope. One
AGENTS.mdper coherent module/package, not one giant root file. - Read 3–6 representative files in that directory. Look for conventions actually and consistently
followed: units/domain types, error handling (throw vs
Result), data access (parameterized vs interpolated), module shape (named vs default exports, return shapes, logging), id generation, input validation, naming. - Write it short and rule-shaped — ~4–8 bullet lines, ≤ ~80 words. State each as a rule a new contributor must follow, not a description of the code. Bad: "addPrices adds two cent values." Good: "Money is integer cents; functions take and return cents; format to dollars only at the boundary."
- Only what the code shows. If a convention isn't evidenced, leave it out. If two files disagree, state the dominant one and note the exception, or omit it.
- Don't clobber. If an
AGENTS.mdexists, show the change as a diff and merge — never silently replace a human-written file. - Report each file you wrote and the conventions captured, one line each; flag any you were unsure of
as
(unverified — confirm).
Expected output
A short, rule-shaped AGENTS.md (or a proposed diff to an existing one) per module worked in, plus the
one-line-per-convention report.
Verification
Re-read the file you wrote: is every rule evidenced by a file you actually opened? Drop any rule you cannot point to. A specific, true convention beats a comprehensive, guessed one.
Honest bound
The A/B handed the generated file to the model, so it measures the value of the convention being present and specific; the extra value of an agent auto-discovering the file near the code is real but untested, so the true effect is ≥ the measured 89%. This is a convention aid — it does not change behavior the code doesn't already exhibit.
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.

