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Aug 28, 2026 · Catalog foundation is up

Specification feature · interfaces

AGENTS.md root instructionsAGENTS.md convention

Discover and apply the cross-agent AGENTS.md convention at repository scope.

Terminology basis: AGENTS.md convention. AGENTS.md convention

AGENTS.md root instructions: 7 supported, 1 partial, 0 unsupported, 23 unreviewed across 31 cataloged products.

Markdown · JSON

Explore this familyMore in Persistent instructions3 capabilities

Current evidence by product

Can my agent use AGENTS.md root instructions?

Read across for the answer. 8 of 31 current product columns have reviewed evidence; unreviewed does not mean unsupported.

Known issues (0)Report an issue
  • Supported7
  • Partial1
  • Unsupported0
  • Unknown23
  • Not applicable0

Web

9 products

Desktop

13 products
ClineCline
Y6Supported
Docs checked 2026-08-28Current · 1 condition
?Unknown
No source reviewedPreview record
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CLI

9 products

Unknown means no public evidence has been reviewed for that product and capability. It does not mean unsupported.

How statuses are assigned

Definition and scope

What this capability means

Discover and apply the cross-agent AGENTS.md convention at repository scope.

Support is recorded only when exact, dated evidence covers this behavior.

Traceable compatibility

Assertion ledger

Documentation evidence only. No runtime conformance test is implied.

Codex CLIcli · current
Supported
Target
current Codex AGENTS.md documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28

No additional condition is recorded for this statement.

Evidence
Cursordesktop · current
Supported
Target
current Cursor Rules documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28
  • host-roleclaim is scoped to Cursor Agent in the desktop workbench
Evidence
Copilot Chatdesktop · current
Supported
Target
current VS Code custom-instructions documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28

No additional condition is recorded for this statement.

Evidence
Gemini CLIcli · current
Partial
Target
current Gemini CLI context-file documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28
  • runtimerequires adding AGENTS.md to context.fileName because GEMINI.md is the default context filename
Evidence
Copilot CLIcli · current
Supported
Target
current GitHub Copilot CLI custom-instructions documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28

No additional condition is recorded for this statement.

Evidence
Clinedesktop · current
Supported
Target
current Cline Rules documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28
  • host-roleclaim is scoped to the Cline editor agent and workspace-root AGENTS.md discovery
Evidence
Windsurfdesktop · current
Supported
Target
current Windsurf Rules documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28

No additional condition is recorded for this statement.

Evidence
Zed Agentdesktop · current
Supported
Target
current Zed Agent instructions documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28
  • host-roleclaim is scoped to Zed Agent rather than external agents or terminal threads
  • runtimeZed uses the first matching project instruction filename in its documented priority list, so a higher-priority compatible rules file can supersede AGENTS.md
Evidence
  1. 1. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: OpenAI documents automatic AGENTS.md discovery from the project root for Codex.
  2. 2. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Cursor documents AGENTS.md in the project root as an automatically applied plain-Markdown alternative to Cursor Rules.
  3. 3. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Microsoft documents automatic AGENTS.md detection at the VS Code workspace root.
  4. 4. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Gemini CLI can load AGENTS.md through its configurable context.fileName setting; AGENTS.md is not the default filename.
  5. 5. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: GitHub documents AGENTS.md discovery by Copilot CLI at the repository root and other standard locations.
  6. 6. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Cline documents AGENTS.md as a detected cross-tool rule format at the workspace root.
  7. 7. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Windsurf documents root AGENTS.md files as always-on workspace rules.
  8. 8. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Zed documents project AGENTS.md as an automatically loaded project instruction file.