Instructing Your AI Helpers | Blog | Colby Palmer
# AGENTS.md This project uses Codex-compatible agents (e.g., in Cursor) to assist with development, refactoring, and maintenance. To ensure consistent, context-aware behavior, all agents must follow the directives below. --- ## 🔁 Runtime Behavior for Agents - **Always load and interpret all files in `./cursor/rules/` on every request.** These files contain high-priority, agent-specific instructions and overrides that influence behavior, coding style, architectural decisions, and task-specific guidance. - Treat every file in `./cursor/rules/` as essential context, regardless of file type or naming convention. - Files in `./cursor/rules/` may: - Override or extend project-wide conventions - Define specialized behavior for a specific domain, app, or tool - Include instruction sets tailored to agents or Codex-like systems - Do **not** proceed with code generation, refactoring, or architectural recommendations without evaluating the current contents of that directory. --- ## Agent Execution Guidance - Look for `.md`, `.json`, or `.py` files within `./cursor/rules/`; all may contain logic or instructions for agent use. - Assume that any file in the directory is actionable unless explicitly marked otherwise within the file. - When files contain overlapping rules, follow the most specific applicable instruction set based on file naming and structure. --- ## Agent Initialization Sequence When responding to a request: 1. Load and parse all files in `./cursor/rules/` 2. Combine guidance from this `AGENTS.md` file with rule-specific logic 3. Apply instruction sets before generating or modifying any code 4. Use the combined ruleset as authoritative, unless explicitly overridden by user instructions in-session --- ## Maintenance Notes - The `./cursor/rules/` directory may evolve over time. Agents should always load the latest version during each execution. - If the directory is empty, fall back to global defaults and instructions in this file. --- ## Developer Guidance If you're writing rules for AI agents: - Place them in `./cursor/rules/` and commit them with clear names and versioning - Use plain Markdown, JSON, or Python files - Document the intent, scope, and override behavior within each file --- This `AGENTS.md` file should be interpreted as high-priority guidance. When used with Codex, Cursor, or any AI-assist tooling, this file governs the expected behavioral contract between human collaborators and AI agents.