Overview
[AI Summary]: AGENTS.md is an open documentation standard that provides a predictable, dedicated place for AI coding agents to find project-specific context and instructions. Used by over 20,000 open-source projects including OpenAI Codex, Apache Airflow, and major development tools, it serves as a “README for agents” - complementing human-focused README files with detailed build steps, testing procedures, code style guidelines, and conventions that agents need to work effectively on codebases. The format supports nested files for monorepos, works across a growing ecosystem of AI coding tools (Cursor, Aider, GitHub Copilot, Devin, Jules, VS Code, and more), and uses simple Markdown with no required fields.
- Format: Markdown
- Developer: Collaborative effort by OpenAI, Amp, Jules (Google), Cursor, Factory, and community
- License: Open format
- Platform: Cross-platform (works with 20+ AI coding agents)
- Type: Documentation standard