whatisgithub

What is agents.md?

agentsmd/agents.md — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

★ 21,034TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 1/5LicenseSetup · easy

In one sentence

A standard file format for documenting how AI coding agents should work with your codebase, like a README, but written for AI instead of humans.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((agents.md))
    What it does
      File format standard
      AI agent context
      Project documentation
    Key sections
      Dev environment
      Testing instructions
      PR conventions
    Format
      Plain Markdown
      Human-readable
      Machine-parseable
    Use cases
      AI pair programming
      Automated code review
      Agent onboarding
    Audience
      AI tool builders
      Open source maintainers
Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Add an agents.md file to your repo so AI coding assistants understand your dev setup, testing process, and contribution rules.

USE CASE 2

Build AI tools that read agents.md to automatically onboard themselves to new codebases without asking for manual context.

USE CASE 3

Document project conventions in a machine-readable format that both humans and AI agents can follow consistently.

What is it built with?

TypeScriptNext.jsMarkdown

How does it compare?

agentsmd/agents.mdelastic/kibanacoleam00/archon
Stars21,03421,07620,925
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyeasyhardmoderate
Complexity1/53/54/5
Audiencedeveloperdatadeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
Use freely for any purpose including commercial, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

So what is it?

AGENTS.md is an open file format standard for giving AI coding agents context and instructions about a software project. Think of it as a README, but written specifically for AI agents rather than human developers, a predictable, dedicated place where an agent can look to understand how to work on the codebase. An AGENTS.md file lives in a project's repository and can contain things like dev environment tips (commands to use, toolchain notes), testing instructions (how to run the test suite, linting requirements), and pull request conventions. The format is simple plain Markdown. The repository also includes a Next.js website at agents.md that explains the format and shows examples.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Create an agents.md file for my TypeScript project that explains how to set up the dev environment, run tests, and submit pull requests.
Prompt 2
Show me an example agents.md file that documents linting rules, test commands, and code style conventions for an open source project.
Prompt 3
How should I structure an agents.md file to help AI agents understand my monorepo's folder layout and build process?

Frequently asked questions

What is agents.md?

A standard file format for documenting how AI coding agents should work with your codebase, like a README, but written for AI instead of humans.

What language is agents.md written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, Next.js, Markdown.

What license does agents.md use?

Use freely for any purpose including commercial, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is agents.md to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is agents.md for?

Mainly developer.

Open on GitHub → Ask about another repo

This repo across BitVibe Labs

Verify against the repo before relying on details.

What are similar repos?