AGENTS.md directory
Instruction files from open source projects, measured and read. Every entry has the file broken down and the techniques worth copying pulled out, so you can tell what is in one without opening it.
Browse by technique for the moves that recur across the files. Star counts are a snapshot from September 2026.
16 projects
opencodeanomalyco/opencodeTwelve code blocks in 161 lines; most style rules show the wrong version beside the right one.
Good and bad pairsHard prohibitionsGenerated file guardsArchitecture as narrativeBehavioral framingTypeScript207.1k stars161 lines
Codexopenai/codexIncludes rules governing what may enter the agent's own model context.
Context budgetingHard prohibitionsVerification by change typeGood and bad pairsGenerated file guardsBehavioral framingRust123.8k stars320 lines
browser-usebrowser-use/browser-useAbout 30 lines of rules followed by roughly 980 lines of the project's own product documentation.
Hard prohibitionsPointing at the source of truthPython114.6k stars1017 lines
Supabasesupabase/supabase75 lines, including a rule about what may not appear in a public repository's pull requests and comments.
Router filesRatchetsGenerated file guardsNested instruction filesPointing at the source of truthTypeScript109.1k stars75 lines
Storybookstorybookjs/storybookCarries a Learned User Preferences section recording corrections from maintainers.
Behavioral framingPointing at the source of truthHard prohibitionsVerification by change typeNested instruction filesTypeScript91.1k stars419 lines
Astrowithastro/astroOpens with four sections on how to approach work, before any repository detail.
Behavioral framingRouter filesHard prohibitionsHouse vocabularyTypeScript62.5k stars165 lines
Ghosttyghostty-org/ghosttyThirty-nine lines: build commands, three directories and two absolute rules.
Contribution etiquetteHard prohibitionsVerification by change typeZig61.1k stars39 lines
Airflowapache/airflowCovers naming, the security model, commit form, and when to open a pull request instead of an issue.
House vocabularyContribution etiquetteHard prohibitionsVerification by change typeNested instruction filesRouter filesPython46.9k stars537 lines
Omarchyomacom/omarchyOpens with seven task guides and keeps most of its detail in other files.
Router filesHard prohibitionsGenerated file guardsPointing at the source of truthShell40.9k stars133 lines
herdrherdrdev/herdrSplits itself into four audiences and tells the agent how to determine which one it is.
Scope layeringContribution etiquetteRatchetsVerification by change typeArchitecture as narrativeRust38.2k stars317 lines
Tursotursodatabase/tursoBans a specific list of metaphorical words and asks for plain language.
House vocabularyBehavioral framingHard prohibitionsRouter filesVerification by change typeRust24.3k stars165 lines
Temporaltemporalio/temporalOpens by assigning the agent a persona and an output length limit.
Behavioral framingHard prohibitionsHouse vocabularyVerification by change typeGo23k stars105 lines
GitButlergitbutlerapp/gitbutler42 lines that open with the precedence order between instruction sources.
Nested instruction filesBehavioral framingPointing at the source of truthRust21.7k stars42 lines
Freshfreshframework/freshNine numbered steps of the request lifecycle, with the owning file at each hop.
Architecture as narrativeHard prohibitionsTypeScript13.8k stars156 lines
hunkmodem-dev/hunkDocuments a shared review seam as two ASCII data flows, then forbids re-deriving it in a renderer.
Architecture as narrativeRatchetsVerification by change typeGenerated file guardsHouse vocabularyTypeScript9.3k stars224 lines
Workers SDKcloudflare/workers-sdkStates that copied values go stale, and points at the config that defines them instead.
Pointing at the source of truthNested instruction filesHard prohibitionsVerification by change typeTypeScript4.5k stars153 lines
Your agents are only as good as their context
A good AGENTS.md tells an agent how your codebase works. It cannot tell it which bug three customers hit this week, or which request is blocking a renewal. Modem keeps that context current and hands it to the agent with the ticket.