1.3 AGENTS.md

Overview

General rule of thumb is to follow guidance from Agents.md. At minimum try and provide concise and descriptive examples of what incorrect and correct. Consolidate examples as reasonably as possible to reduce token usage. The persona and target audience for this document is an AI Agent or LLM.

Token Efficiency (Critical)

Use cross-references:

❌ Incorrect: repeated workflow details

When searching, dispatch subagent with template...
[20 lines of repeated instructions]

✅ Correct: reference other skill

Always use subagents. REQUIRED: Use [other-skill-name] for workflow.

Compress examples:

# ❌ BAD: Verbose example (42 words)
your human partner: "How did we handle authentication errors in React Router before?"
You: I'll search past conversations for React Router authentication patterns.
[Dispatch subagent with search query: "React Router authentication error handling 401"]

# ✅ GOOD: Minimal example (20 words)
Partner: "How did we handle auth errors in React Router?"
You: Searching...
[Dispatch subagent → synthesis]

❌ Incorrect: verbose example (42 words)

your human partner: "How did we handle authentication errors in React Router before?"
You: I'll search past conversations for React Router authentication patterns.
[Dispatch subagent with search query: "React Router authentication error handling 401"]

✅ Correct: minimal example (20 words)

Partner: "How did we handle auth errors in React Router?"
You: Searching...
[Dispatch subagent → synthesis]

Eliminate redundancy

• Don't repeat what's in cross-referenced skills
• Don't explain what's obvious from skill
• Don't include multiple examples of same pattern

Reference: https://agents.md/#examples