thanks, very useful!
January 19, 2026 at 7:37 PM
thanks, very useful!
that defs wasn't here last time I logged in, thanks! will take a look
January 19, 2026 at 7:36 PM
that defs wasn't here last time I logged in, thanks! will take a look
it also feels peaceful in a way
January 19, 2026 at 7:22 PM
it also feels peaceful in a way
spend energy on writing good rules, not lobbying for a universal filename; once the ecosystem stabilizes, a shared manifest (think package.json for agents) will emerge naturally.
until then, thin adapters beat committees.
until then, thin adapters beat committees.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
spend energy on writing good rules, not lobbying for a universal filename; once the ecosystem stabilizes, a shared manifest (think package.json for agents) will emerge naturally.
until then, thin adapters beat committees.
until then, thin adapters beat committees.
The current sprawl looks chaotic, but under the hood these files do the same two things: stash static instructions and feed them to a prompt. Translation is easy: just a regex, not a standards body
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
The current sprawl looks chaotic, but under the hood these files do the same two things: stash static instructions and feed them to a prompt. Translation is easy: just a regex, not a standards body
Others
There are of course other options; to each its own. A quick search in GitHub or Google shows tons of different JSON manifests holding tool lists, memory knobs, and model params. Format varies by project; should be treated as project-specific until a real spec lands.
There are of course other options; to each its own. A quick search in GitHub or Google shows tons of different JSON manifests holding tool lists, memory knobs, and model params. Format varies by project; should be treated as project-specific until a real spec lands.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Others
There are of course other options; to each its own. A quick search in GitHub or Google shows tons of different JSON manifests holding tool lists, memory knobs, and model params. Format varies by project; should be treated as project-specific until a real spec lands.
There are of course other options; to each its own. A quick search in GitHub or Google shows tons of different JSON manifests holding tool lists, memory knobs, and model params. Format varies by project; should be treated as project-specific until a real spec lands.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Devin
Based on the documentation, you can define rules in a few ways: "In Playbooks, you can create a "Forbidden Actions" section that lists actions Devin should not take (...) It is also possible to add rules to Devin's Knowledge that will persist across all future sessions and can be pinned."
Based on the documentation, you can define rules in a few ways: "In Playbooks, you can create a "Forbidden Actions" section that lists actions Devin should not take (...) It is also possible to add rules to Devin's Knowledge that will persist across all future sessions and can be pinned."
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Devin
Based on the documentation, you can define rules in a few ways: "In Playbooks, you can create a "Forbidden Actions" section that lists actions Devin should not take (...) It is also possible to add rules to Devin's Knowledge that will persist across all future sessions and can be pinned."
Based on the documentation, you can define rules in a few ways: "In Playbooks, you can create a "Forbidden Actions" section that lists actions Devin should not take (...) It is also possible to add rules to Devin's Knowledge that will persist across all future sessions and can be pinned."
Microsoft Autogen
This one’s tricky because Autogen is not quite like the other tools here. However, you can define rules for a CodeExecutorAgent using the attribute system_message.
This one’s tricky because Autogen is not quite like the other tools here. However, you can define rules for a CodeExecutorAgent using the attribute system_message.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Microsoft Autogen
This one’s tricky because Autogen is not quite like the other tools here. However, you can define rules for a CodeExecutorAgent using the attribute system_message.
This one’s tricky because Autogen is not quite like the other tools here. However, you can define rules for a CodeExecutorAgent using the attribute system_message.
GitHub Copilot
Plain markdown file .github/copilot-instructions.md: repo-level instructions. Once saved it is instantly available to Copilot Chat & inline chat. the only stable version is the VSCode one; any other states that “this feature is currently in public preview and is subject to change”.
Plain markdown file .github/copilot-instructions.md: repo-level instructions. Once saved it is instantly available to Copilot Chat & inline chat. the only stable version is the VSCode one; any other states that “this feature is currently in public preview and is subject to change”.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
GitHub Copilot
Plain markdown file .github/copilot-instructions.md: repo-level instructions. Once saved it is instantly available to Copilot Chat & inline chat. the only stable version is the VSCode one; any other states that “this feature is currently in public preview and is subject to change”.
Plain markdown file .github/copilot-instructions.md: repo-level instructions. Once saved it is instantly available to Copilot Chat & inline chat. the only stable version is the VSCode one; any other states that “this feature is currently in public preview and is subject to change”.
Amp by @sourcegraph.com
Amp has publicly stated that they want AGENT.md to become the standard, and they offer a converter from other vendor’s files. they provide a single file, although they’re working on adding support for a more granular guidance.
these people are COMMITTED and i celebrate it
Amp has publicly stated that they want AGENT.md to become the standard, and they offer a converter from other vendor’s files. they provide a single file, although they’re working on adding support for a more granular guidance.
these people are COMMITTED and i celebrate it
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Amp by @sourcegraph.com
Amp has publicly stated that they want AGENT.md to become the standard, and they offer a converter from other vendor’s files. they provide a single file, although they’re working on adding support for a more granular guidance.
these people are COMMITTED and i celebrate it
Amp has publicly stated that they want AGENT.md to become the standard, and they offer a converter from other vendor’s files. they provide a single file, although they’re working on adding support for a more granular guidance.
these people are COMMITTED and i celebrate it
It is also possible to reference other markdown files. Anything inside the file or the extended paths is auto-prepended when you chat with Claude Code.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
It is also possible to reference other markdown files. Anything inside the file or the extended paths is auto-prepended when you chat with Claude Code.
Claude by @anthropic.com
They use CLAUDE.md, an informal markdown Anthropic convention. There are two flavours: at repo root for project-specific instructions, and at ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md for user preferences for all projects.
They use CLAUDE.md, an informal markdown Anthropic convention. There are two flavours: at repo root for project-specific instructions, and at ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md for user preferences for all projects.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Claude by @anthropic.com
They use CLAUDE.md, an informal markdown Anthropic convention. There are two flavours: at repo root for project-specific instructions, and at ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md for user preferences for all projects.
They use CLAUDE.md, an informal markdown Anthropic convention. There are two flavours: at repo root for project-specific instructions, and at ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md for user preferences for all projects.
Cline @thankscline.bsky.social
The .clinerules/ directory stores a set of plain text constraint files with the desired policies. The files support simple section headers and key-value overrides (max_tokens=4096). For projects with multiple contexts, they provide the option of a bank of rules.
The .clinerules/ directory stores a set of plain text constraint files with the desired policies. The files support simple section headers and key-value overrides (max_tokens=4096). For projects with multiple contexts, they provide the option of a bank of rules.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Cline @thankscline.bsky.social
The .clinerules/ directory stores a set of plain text constraint files with the desired policies. The files support simple section headers and key-value overrides (max_tokens=4096). For projects with multiple contexts, they provide the option of a bank of rules.
The .clinerules/ directory stores a set of plain text constraint files with the desired policies. The files support simple section headers and key-value overrides (max_tokens=4096). For projects with multiple contexts, they provide the option of a bank of rules.
Sweep AI
The docs don’t specify this anymore (or i haven't found it) but there’s a file called sweep.yaml which is the main config. Among other options, such as blocking directories, you can define rules there. There’s an example in the GitHub repo and it’s widely commented in their Discord server.
The docs don’t specify this anymore (or i haven't found it) but there’s a file called sweep.yaml which is the main config. Among other options, such as blocking directories, you can define rules there. There’s an example in the GitHub repo and it’s widely commented in their Discord server.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Sweep AI
The docs don’t specify this anymore (or i haven't found it) but there’s a file called sweep.yaml which is the main config. Among other options, such as blocking directories, you can define rules there. There’s an example in the GitHub repo and it’s widely commented in their Discord server.
The docs don’t specify this anymore (or i haven't found it) but there’s a file called sweep.yaml which is the main config. Among other options, such as blocking directories, you can define rules there. There’s an example in the GitHub repo and it’s widely commented in their Discord server.
Windsurf @windsurfai.bsky.social
The file global_rules.md applies to all workspaces. The directory .windsurf/rules stores repo-specific rules. There’s no format as such, the rules are plain text, although XML can be used. Similar to MDC, there are several activation modes.
The file global_rules.md applies to all workspaces. The directory .windsurf/rules stores repo-specific rules. There’s no format as such, the rules are plain text, although XML can be used. Similar to MDC, there are several activation modes.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Windsurf @windsurfai.bsky.social
The file global_rules.md applies to all workspaces. The directory .windsurf/rules stores repo-specific rules. There’s no format as such, the rules are plain text, although XML can be used. Similar to MDC, there are several activation modes.
The file global_rules.md applies to all workspaces. The directory .windsurf/rules stores repo-specific rules. There’s no format as such, the rules are plain text, although XML can be used. Similar to MDC, there are several activation modes.
Cursor
Directory of markdown files called .cursor/rules; every open tab gets these lines prepended. Older single-file form is .cursorrules. From their docs: each rule file is written in MDC (.mdc), a lightweight format that supports metadata and content in a single file.
Directory of markdown files called .cursor/rules; every open tab gets these lines prepended. Older single-file form is .cursorrules. From their docs: each rule file is written in MDC (.mdc), a lightweight format that supports metadata and content in a single file.
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Cursor
Directory of markdown files called .cursor/rules; every open tab gets these lines prepended. Older single-file form is .cursorrules. From their docs: each rule file is written in MDC (.mdc), a lightweight format that supports metadata and content in a single file.
Directory of markdown files called .cursor/rules; every open tab gets these lines prepended. Older single-file form is .cursorrules. From their docs: each rule file is written in MDC (.mdc), a lightweight format that supports metadata and content in a single file.
over the past year every major AI player has slipped a rules or memory file into its workflow: Cursor has .cursor/rules, Windsurf has .windsurf/rules, GitHub is testing copilot-instructions.md, and indie tools are inventing their own paths just to keep up.
lets see who's shipping what
lets see who's shipping what
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
over the past year every major AI player has slipped a rules or memory file into its workflow: Cursor has .cursor/rules, Windsurf has .windsurf/rules, GitHub is testing copilot-instructions.md, and indie tools are inventing their own paths just to keep up.
lets see who's shipping what
lets see who's shipping what