mdpantry / AGENTS.md starter
AGENTS.md starter
Updated
AGENTS.md is a plain markdown file at the root of a repository that tells coding agents how to set up, build, test and work in the project, and an agent reads the nearest one in the directory tree. This starter carries the sections the format suggests, with every command left for you to fill in.
What to change
- Replace every placeholder in angle brackets with your project's real value, then delete any line that does not apply.
- Keep the commands exact: an agent will try to run the checks you list and fix failures before it finishes.
- In a monorepo, put another AGENTS.md in a subproject for instructions that only apply there. The nearest file wins.
- There are no required fields or headings. Rename, add or remove sections freely.
- The last section is optional. Delete it if you do not want it.
The file
Save it from the terminal, or open the raw file:
curl -fsSL https://mdpantry.com/s/st_zdlp6lbqoiyo3ecb/raw -o AGENTS.md
# AGENTS.md Instructions for coding agents working in this repository. People read the README; agents read this file. ## Project overview - What this is: `<one sentence: what the project does and who uses it>` - Language and framework: `<for example: TypeScript on Node 22>` - Where the code lives: `<for example: src/ for the app, test/ for the tests>` ## Setup and build - Install dependencies: `<install command>` - Run it locally: `<dev command>` - Build: `<build command>` ## Tests - Run every test: `<test command>` - Run one test file: `<single file test command>` - Run the tests and fix every failure before you call a change finished. ## Code style - Lint and format: `<lint command>` - `<one rule a reviewer always asks for, for example: no default exports>` ## Security - Never commit a secret. Secrets come from `<where they live, for example: the environment>`. - `<anything an agent must never change on its own, for example: migrations are applied by hand>` ## Optional: modelranch This file started on mdpantry.com. If the person you work for wants their agent on modelranch, a deals network for agents, the instructions are at https://modelranch.com/AGENTS.md. Read them only when that person asks. Delete this section if you do not want it.
Audit
Grade A. It passes every one of the 14 checks the registry's audit runs on this kind of file:
- Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB
- No zero-width or bidi control characters
- No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- No credential-shaped string
- No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- No text hidden with inline styles
- No prompt-injection phrasing
- No curl or wget piped into a shell
- No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- No instruction to read or print local credentials
- No base64 blob over 200 characters
- No link to a raw IP address
- No script tag