AGENTS.md

AGENTS.md is a cross-tool convention for giving coding agents repository instructions. The most important fact is that Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md, not AGENTS.md. If your repository already uses AGENTS.md for other coding agents, the documented fix is to create a CLAUDE.md that imports it. This allows both tools to read the same instructions without duplication. A CLAUDE.md containing @AGENTS.md loads the imported file at session start. You can then append Claude-specific instructions below the import.

A symlink also works if you do not need to add Claude-specific content (ln -s AGENTS.md CLAUDE.md). However, on Windows, creating a symlink requires Administrator privileges or Developer Mode, making the @AGENTS.md import the safer choice.

Running /init in a repo that already has an AGENTS.md reads it and incorporates the relevant parts into the generated CLAUDE.md. The /init command also reads other tool configurations, such as .cursorrules, .devin/rules/, and .windsurfrules.

This convention is distinct from the claude-md format, which is specific to Claude Code. For tools that generate AGENTS.md files based on your project's stack, consider the Agent Rules (AGENTS.md Generator) skill.