Agent Guide Bootstrap

Agent Guide Bootstrap

Generate the full agent-guide system for a repo so AI coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex) get the right context at the right time.

The system uses progressive disclosure: a terse always-on AGENTS.md (~80 lines) + on-demand domain guides + canonical reference files. One source of truth — tool-specific files like CLAUDE.md are thin redirects.

Additional triggers

Beyond the description's "Use when…" phrases, also invoke when:

• User joined a new repo and wants AI agents productive.
• User notices an agent making the same mistake twice and wants to encode the rule.

Critical rules

1. Never embed code examples that will go stale. Point to canonical reference files (Canonical example: src/routes/users-routes.ts). The codebase is always up to date — embedded examples are not.
2. Lead domain guides with "Do Not" lists. Agents discover positive patterns from existing code. They cannot discover which valid-looking patterns are prohibited.
3. AGENTS.md ≤ 80 lines. It loads on every turn. Anything domain-specific moves to .agents/{domain}.md.
4. Exact commands, not descriptions. pnpm biome check --write path/to/file.ts, not "run the linter".

Workflow

1. Explore the repo

Read these:

• Manifest files: package.json / pyproject.toml / Gemfile / Cargo.toml / go.mod
• Top-level directories + monorepo config (pnpm-workspace.yaml, turbo.json, nx.json)
• Build/CI configs: Makefile, .github/workflows/, Dockerfile, docker-compose.yml
• Existing docs: README.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, docs/
• Recent commit history (commit message format)
• Any existing AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, .github/copilot-instructions.md — do not duplicate, merge

2. Identify

• Tech stack: languages, frameworks, package manager, linter, formatter, test runner, ORM, CI.
• Architecture per app/package: routes/controllers/services/models, or components/views/state, etc.
• Domains: each top-level area that an agent would touch separately (frontend, backend, infra, db, mobile).
• Exact commands: read package.json scripts, Makefiles, CI configs, READMEs. Capture lint, typecheck, test, dev, full-check.
• Conventions: commit format (look at commit history), .env.example keys, conditional commands (e.g. "if Prisma schema changed: pnpm db:generate").
• Prohibited patterns: multiple ways to do the same thing → pick canonical, prohibit rest. Singletons that get duplicated. Legacy vs. preferred patterns.
• Canonical reference files: best-written example per pattern (routes, components, data fetching, tests).

3. Clarification gate

If anything is ambiguous — which pattern is canonical, what the commit format is, whether a domain needs its own guide — STOP and ask the user with AskUserQuestion before generating files. Guessing here cascades into bad rules.

4. Generate files

Use the structure spec in references/agent-guide-spec.md for exact section-by-section guidance. Generate:

• AGENTS.md (~80 lines): project header, repo map, commands, domain pointers, workflow checklist, conventions.
• .agents/<domain>.md (one per major area): "Do Not" list first, then architecture diagram, then key patterns with canonical references.
• CLAUDE.md: one-line redirect to AGENTS.md.
• .agents/design-decisions.md: rationale for the progressive disclosure system + maintenance protocol.

5. Verify before committing

• AGENTS.md is ≤ 80 lines.
• Every "Do Not" rule has a concrete "do this instead".
• Every canonical reference path exists (ls it). Broken links destroy trust.
• Every command is exact and runnable (no placeholders).
• No embedded code examples that could go stale.

Anti-patterns

• Do not generate AGENTS.md over 100 lines. It costs tokens on every turn.
• Do not duplicate content between AGENTS.md and tool-specific files. Tool files are redirects.
• Do not write "prefer" or "consider" rules. Use "Do NOT" and "NEVER" — agents follow prohibitions reliably; suggestions get ignored.
• Do not invent reference paths. Verify they exist.
• Do not add a domain guide for an area the repo doesn't actually have. One guide per real domain.

Reference

Full structural spec with section-by-section templates: references/agent-guide-spec.md.