Project instructions

Add an AGENTS.md file

Create an AGENTS.md file in your project’s root. Describe the conventions and checks that matter when someone works on that project. Keep the file short enough to read and specific enough to act on.

# Project guidance

- Use the existing design components before adding new ones.
- Keep user-facing text clear and accessible.
- Ask before adding a production dependency.
- Run the relevant tests after changing behavior.
- Report any checks that could not be completed.

This example is original user configuration. Adapt it to your own project rather than treating it as a universal rule set.

Verify the guidance

Open the project and ask the agent to read AGENTS.md and summarize the relevant instructions before beginning work. If you update guidance during an active session, explicitly ask it to reread the file.

Project instructions are useful for team conventions, testing expectations, and constraints. The current feature request and acceptance criteria still belong in the conversation.

Keep instructions maintainable

Remove obsolete commands and contradictory rules. If your project has different conventions in different folders, make their scope explicit and check that the agent reads the relevant guidance.

Avoid sensitive content

Do not place passwords, API keys, or customer records in instructions. Instructions can become part of the context supplied to your selected model. They also do not replace tool permissions or provider access controls.