How do I install the Agent Rules skill?

Run npx skillmds add netresearch-agent-rules-skill/agent-rules in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Agent Rules safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: executes scripts, makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Agent Rules?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Agent Rules free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under (MIT AND CC-BY-SA-4.

Who published Agent Rules?

netresearch (@netresearch-agent-rules-skill) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Agent Rules by netresearch-agent-rules-skill

Name: Agent Rules
Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Author: netresearch

Agent Rules

Use when creating or updating AGENTS.md files, .github/copilot-instructions.md, or other AI agent rule files, onboarding AI agents to a project, standardizing agent documentation, or when anyone mentions AGENTS.md, agent rules, project onboarding, or codebase documentation for AI agents.

netresearch 5184056 165 files · 754.7 KB Updated Sep 9, 2026

File contents

AGENTS.md Generator Skill

Generate and maintain AGENTS.md files following the agents.md convention. AGENTS.md is FOR AGENTS, not humans.

When to Use

Creating or updating AGENTS.md for new/existing projects
Scaffolding a new repository — ship AGENTS.md with the initial commits; retrofitting later needs full re-verification
Standardizing agent documentation across repositories
Checking AGENTS.md freshness after code changes
Onboarding AI agents to an unfamiliar codebase

Scripts

Call every script by its full path: bash ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/<name> PATH. Calling one relative to the working directory is not covered by the frontmatter rule and raises a permission prompt per call.

Script	Purpose
`generate-agents.sh PATH`	Generate AGENTS.md files
`validate-structure.sh PATH`	Validate structure compliance
`check-freshness.sh PATH`	Check if files are outdated
`verify-content.sh PATH`	Verify documented files/commands match codebase
`verify-commands.sh PATH`	Verify documented commands execute
`score-agents.sh PATH`	Grade AGENTS.md quality, worst-first
`detect-project.sh PATH`	Detect language, version, build tools
`detect-scopes.sh PATH`	Identify directories needing scoped files
`extract-commands.sh PATH`	Extract commands from build configs
`extract-ci-rules.sh PATH`	Extract CI quality gates and version matrix
`extract-architecture-rules.sh PATH`	Extract module boundaries
`extract-adrs.sh PATH`	Extract architectural decision records
`extract-github-rulesets.sh PATH`	Extract GitHub rulesets and merge rules

See references/scripts-guide.md for full options.

Workflow

Detect: detect-project.sh + detect-scopes.sh — stacks and subsystems
Extract: extract-commands.sh, extract-ci-rules.sh — gather facts
Generate: generate-agents.sh --style=thin (default) or --verbose
Verify: verify-content.sh + verify-commands.sh -- MANDATORY before done

--update preserves curated content outside  markers.

Core Principles

Structured over Prose -- tables parse faster than paragraphs
Never Fabricate -- only document what exists; verify every command and path
Pointer Principle -- point to files, don't duplicate content
Auto Symlinks -- CLAUDE.md/GEMINI.md by default (ai-tool-compatibility.md)

References

File	Contents
`verification-guide.md`	Verification steps, anti-bloat, preservation check
`fleet-sync-sweep.md`	Fleet-wide AGENTS.md sweeps
`scripts-guide.md`	Script options, validation checklist
`quality-rubric.md`	Grading rubric
`ai-tool-compatibility.md`	16-agent compatibility matrix
`output-structure.md`	Root/scoped sections
`git-hooks-setup.md`	Hook framework setup
`examples/`	Complete examples
`ai-contribution-guidelines.md`	"3 Cs" AI-contribution framework
`directory-coverage.md`	Scoped-file coverage rationale
`feedback-memory-schema.md`	Approved-learning file format

Templates

Root: assets/root-thin.md (default) or root-verbose.md. Scoped: assets/scoped/, one per stack (Go/PHP/Python/TYPO3/Symfony/Oro/CLI/TS/skill-repo).

Supported Projects

Go, PHP (Composer/Laravel/Symfony/TYPO3/Oro), TypeScript (React/Next/Vue/Node), Python (pip/poetry/ruff/mypy), skill repos, hybrid.

---name: agent-rulesdescription: Use when creating or updating AGENTS.md files, .github/copilot-instructions.md, or other AI agent rule files, onboarding AI agents to a project, standardizing agent documentation, or when anyone mentions AGENTS.md, agent rules, project onboarding, or codebase documentation for AI agents.license: (MIT AND CC-BY-SA-4.0). See LICENSE-MIT and LICENSE-CC-BY-SA-4.0--- # AGENTS.md Generator Skill Generate and maintain AGENTS.md files following the [agents.md convention](https://agents.md/). AGENTS.md is FOR AGENTS, not humans. ## When to Use - Creating or updating AGENTS.md for new/existing projects - **Scaffolding a new repository** — ship AGENTS.md with the initial commits; retrofitting later needs full re-verification - Standardizing agent documentation across repositories - Checking AGENTS.md freshness after code changes - Onboarding AI agents to an unfamiliar codebase ## Scripts Call every script by its full path: `bash ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/<name> PATH`. Calling one relative to the working directory is not covered by the frontmatter rule and raises a permission prompt per call. | Script | Purpose | |--------|---------| | `generate-agents.sh PATH` | Generate AGENTS.md files | | `validate-structure.sh PATH` | Validate structure compliance | | `check-freshness.sh PATH` | Check if files are outdated | | `verify-content.sh PATH` | Verify documented files/commands match codebase | | `verify-commands.sh PATH` | Verify documented commands execute | | `score-agents.sh PATH` | Grade AGENTS.md quality, worst-first | | `detect-project.sh PATH` | Detect language, version, build tools | | `detect-scopes.sh PATH` | Identify directories needing scoped files | | `extract-commands.sh PATH` | Extract commands from build configs | | `extract-ci-rules.sh PATH` | Extract CI quality gates and version matrix | | `extract-architecture-rules.sh PATH` | Extract module boundaries | | `extract-adrs.sh PATH` | Extract architectural decision records | | `extract-github-rulesets.sh PATH` | Extract GitHub rulesets and merge rules | See `references/scripts-guide.md` for full options. ## Workflow 1. **Detect**: `detect-project.sh` + `detect-scopes.sh` — stacks and subsystems 2. **Extract**: `extract-commands.sh`, `extract-ci-rules.sh` — gather facts 3. **Generate**: `generate-agents.sh --style=thin` (default) or `--verbose` 4. **Verify**: `verify-content.sh` + `verify-commands.sh` -- MANDATORY before done `--update` preserves curated content outside `` markers. ## Core Principles - **Structured over Prose** -- tables parse faster than paragraphs - **Never Fabricate** -- only document what exists; verify every command and path - **Pointer Principle** -- point to files, don't duplicate content - **Auto Symlinks** -- CLAUDE.md/GEMINI.md by default ([`ai-tool-compatibility.md`](references/ai-tool-compatibility.md)) ## References | File | Contents | |------|----------| | [`verification-guide.md`](references/verification-guide.md) | Verification steps, anti-bloat, preservation check | | [`fleet-sync-sweep.md`](references/fleet-sync-sweep.md) | Fleet-wide AGENTS.md sweeps | | [`scripts-guide.md`](references/scripts-guide.md) | Script options, validation checklist | | [`quality-rubric.md`](references/quality-rubric.md) | Grading rubric | | [`ai-tool-compatibility.md`](references/ai-tool-compatibility.md) | 16-agent compatibility matrix | | [`output-structure.md`](references/output-structure.md) | Root/scoped sections | | [`git-hooks-setup.md`](references/git-hooks-setup.md) | Hook framework setup | | [`examples/`](references/examples/) | Complete examples | | [`ai-contribution-guidelines.md`](references/ai-contribution-guidelines.md) | "3 Cs" AI-contribution framework | | [`directory-coverage.md`](references/directory-coverage.md) | Scoped-file coverage rationale | | [`feedback-memory-schema.md`](references/feedback-memory-schema.md) | Approved-learning file format | ## Templates Root: `assets/root-thin.md` (default) or `root-verbose.md`. Scoped: `assets/scoped/`, one per stack (Go/PHP/Python/TYPO3/Symfony/Oro/CLI/TS/skill-repo). ## Supported Projects Go, PHP (Composer/Laravel/Symfony/TYPO3/Oro), TypeScript (React/Next/Vue/Node), Python (pip/poetry/ruff/mypy), skill repos, hybrid. ## See Also - [`agent-harness-skill`](https://github.com/netresearch/agent-harness-skill) — agent-readiness harness (CI enforcement). - [`skill-repo-skill`](https://github.com/netresearch/skill-repo-skill) — skill-repo structure (plugin.json, licensing, releases).

Frequently asked questions