rvdbreemenrvdbreemen/adr-kit/AGENTS.md

adr-kit

AGENTS.md13 starsChanged 4 months agoMITView on GitHub

These instructions adapt the repository guidance for Codex and other coding agents working in adr-kit. - Treat Backlog.md as the source of truth for meaningful work. - Search for an existing task before starting implementation work. - If no task exists, create one before editing code or docs. - Prefer the Backlog MCP tools for reading, searching, creating, and updating tasks. Use the backlog CLI only when MCP is unavailable or insufficient. - Do not edit files in backlog/tasks/ directly.…

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 31,774 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 repository19 other files it gives its agents.
- CLAUDE.mdCLAUDE.md
- .github/copilot-instructions.mdCopilot instructions
- adrSkill
- auditSkill
- contextSkill
- grillSkill
- guardianSkill
- initSkill
- install-hooksSkill
- judgeSkill
- lintSkill
- migrateSkill
- relatedSkill
- retireSkill
- reviewSkill
- settingsSkill
- setupSkill
- supersedeSkill
- upgradeSkill

The file

We split this AGENTS.md into the rules it gives an agent

11 rules. About 0 are common, 7 are distinctive, and 4 are very specific to this project.

≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈7
Distinctive · estimate
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
4
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

Common
Distinctive
Very specific

Distinctive:
Treat Backlog.md as the source of truth for meaningful work.
line 8
Distinctive:
Search for an existing task before starting implementation work.
line 9
Distinctive:
If no task exists, create one before editing code or docs.
line 10
Very specific:
Prefer the Backlog MCP tools for reading, searching, creating, and updating tasks.
line 11
Very specific:
Do not edit files in backlog/tasks/ directly.
line 13
Distinctive:
Keep tasks small enough to finish in one focused pass.
line 14
Distinctive:
Keep changes small, focused, and dependency-free unless the roadmap says otherwise.
line 18
Very specific:
Follow the existing adr-kit conventions in README.md, ROADMAP.md, and CLAUDE.md.
line 20
Distinctive:
Run the smallest test or check that proves the change.
line 26
Distinctive:
Before marking work done, make sure the task status and notes in Backlog are updated to match the actual change.
line 29
Very specific:
Read .adr-kit/ADR-guide.md before architectural changes.
line 35

≈ “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.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.

Files

AGENTS.md

adr-kit Agent Instructions

These instructions adapt the repository guidance for Codex and other coding agents working in adr-kit.

Task management

Treat Backlog.md as the source of truth for meaningful work.
Search for an existing task before starting implementation work.
If no task exists, create one before editing code or docs.
Prefer the Backlog MCP tools for reading, searching, creating, and updating tasks. Use the backlog CLI only when MCP is unavailable or insufficient.
Do not edit files in backlog/tasks/ directly.
Keep tasks small enough to finish in one focused pass.

Repo conventions

Keep changes small, focused, and dependency-free unless the roadmap says otherwise.
Follow the existing adr-kit conventions in README.md, ROADMAP.md, and CLAUDE.md.
Favor deterministic, stdlib-first changes over new runtime dependencies.

Verification

Run the smallest test or check that proves the change.
Broaden verification when the change touches shared behavior, tooling, package layout, or user-facing workflow.
Before marking work done, make sure the task status and notes in Backlog are updated to match the actual change.

ADR Kit

Read .adr-kit/ADR-guide.md before architectural changes. Architecture decisions live in docs/adr/. Use $adr-kit:context before implementation, $adr-kit:adr for new decisions, and $adr-kit:judge before commit.

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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.

Check your setup, free