agent-rules

name	agent-rules
description	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
compatibility	Requires bash 4.3+, jq 1.5+, git 2.0+.
metadata	{"author":"Netresearch DTT GmbH","version":"3.11.0","repository":"https://github.com/netresearch/agent-rules-skill"}
allowed-tools	Bash(git:*) Bash(jq:*) Bash(grep:*) Bash(find:*) Bash(bash:*) Read Glob Grep

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
• Standardizing agent documentation across repositories
• Checking if AGENTS.md files are current with recent code changes
• Onboarding AI agents to an unfamiliar codebase

Scripts

Script	Purpose
scripts/generate-agents.sh PATH	Generate AGENTS.md files
scripts/validate-structure.sh PATH	Validate structure compliance
scripts/check-freshness.sh PATH	Check if files are outdated
scripts/verify-content.sh PATH	Verify documented files/commands match codebase
scripts/verify-commands.sh PATH	Verify documented commands execute
scripts/detect-project.sh PATH	Detect language, version, build tools
scripts/detect-scopes.sh PATH	Identify directories needing scoped files
scripts/extract-commands.sh PATH	Extract commands from build configs
scripts/extract-ci-rules.sh PATH	Extract CI quality gates and version matrix
scripts/extract-architecture-rules.sh PATH	Extract module boundaries
scripts/extract-adrs.sh PATH	Extract architectural decision records
scripts/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 to identify stacks and subsystems
2. Extract: extract-commands.sh, extract-ci-rules.sh, etc. to gather facts
3. Generate: generate-agents.sh with --style=thin (default) or --verbose
4. Verify: verify-content.sh + verify-commands.sh -- MANDATORY before done

Use --update to preserve human-curated content outside <!-- GENERATED --> 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 symlinks by default (see ai-tool-compatibility.md)

References

File	Contents
verification-guide.md	Verification steps, design principles
scripts-guide.md	Script options, validation checklist
ai-tool-compatibility.md	16-agent compatibility matrix
output-structure.md	Root/scoped sections
git-hooks-setup.md	Hook framework detection and setup
examples/	Complete examples
ai-contribution-guidelines.md	"3 Cs" framework for AI contributions (Comprehension, Context, Continuity)
directory-coverage.md	Full coverage rationale for scoped AGENTS.md files

Templates

Root: assets/root-thin.md (default), root-verbose.md. Scoped: assets/scoped/ -- backend-go.md, backend-php.md, python-modern.md, typo3.md, symfony.md, skill-repo.md, cli.md, frontend-typescript.md, oro.md.

Supported Projects

Go, PHP (Composer/Laravel/Symfony/TYPO3/Oro), TypeScript (React/Next/Vue/Node), Python (pip/poetry/ruff/mypy), Skill repos, Hybrid (multi-stack with auto-scoping).

See Also

• agent-harness-skill — broader agent-readiness harness (CI verification, enforcement). Invokes this skill when AGENTS.md is missing.
• skill-repo-skill — skill-repo structure (plugin.json, split licensing, release workflows).