24 projects / 14 techniques / Open source
Better instructions.
Better agents.
Explore the agent instructions and skills behind open source projects. Read the source and borrow useful patterns.
A study in brevity
39 lines.
Two absolute rules.
One very clear brief.
Inside Ghostty’s AGENTS.md24 projects
Star snapshot · September 2026
OpenClaw
openclaw/openclaw
New capabilities must justify their ownership and the context they add to every agent turn.
123 linesTypeScript389.7k starsContext budgetingPointing at the source of truth+2 more techniquesFile changed
opencode
anomalyco/opencode
Twelve code blocks in 161 lines; most style rules show the wrong version beside the right one.
161 linesTypeScript207.1k starsGood and bad pairsHard prohibitions+3 more techniquesFile changed
n8n
n8n-io/n8n
Architecture rules name the lint checks that enforce them, including a baseline that can only shrink.
428 linesTypeScript204.3k starsArchitecture as narrativeRatchets+3 more techniquesFile changed
Ollama
ollama/ollama
A short build guide separates native compilation from Go-only iteration.
21 linesGo181k starsVerification by change typeRouter filesFile changed
Firecrawl
firecrawl/firecrawl
An 18-line workflow starts with happy and failure paths, then lets a test harness own the running services.
18 linesTypeScript180.4k starsBehavioral framingVerification by change type+1 more techniqueFile changed
Langflow
langflow-ai/langflow
Authorization flags and component class names carry contracts that a routine refactor can break.
243 linesPython154.8k starsArchitecture as narrativeHard prohibitions+1 more techniqueFile changed
Codex
openai/codex
Includes rules governing what may enter the agent's own model context.
320 linesRust123.8k starsContext budgetingHard prohibitions+4 more techniquesFile changed
browser-use
browser-use/browser-use
About 30 lines of rules followed by roughly 980 lines of the project's own product documentation.
1,017 linesPython114.6k starsHard prohibitionsPointing at the source of truthFile changed
Supabase
supabase/supabase
75 lines, including a rule about what may not appear in a public repository's pull requests and comments.
75 linesTypeScript109.1k starsRouter filesRatchets+3 more techniquesFile changed
Storybook
storybookjs/storybook
Carries a Learned User Preferences section recording corrections from maintainers.
419 linesTypeScript91.1k starsBehavioral framingPointing at the source of truth+3 more techniquesFile changed
Astro
withastro/astro
Opens with four sections on how to approach work, before any repository detail.
165 linesTypeScript62.5k starsBehavioral framingRouter files+2 more techniquesFile changed
Ghostty
ghostty-org/ghostty
Thirty-nine lines: build commands, three directories and two absolute rules.
39 linesZig61.1k starsContribution etiquetteHard prohibitions+1 more techniqueFile changed
Airflow
apache/airflow
Covers naming, the security model, commit form, and when to open a pull request instead of an issue.
537 linesPython46.9k starsHouse vocabularyContribution etiquette+4 more techniquesFile changed
Omarchy
omacom/omarchy
Opens with seven task guides and keeps most of its detail in other files.
133 linesShell40.9k starsRouter filesHard prohibitions+2 more techniquesFile changed
herdr
herdrdev/herdr
Splits itself into four audiences and tells the agent how to determine which one it is.
317 linesRust38.2k starsScope layeringContribution etiquette+3 more techniquesFile changed
Better Auth
better-auth/better-auth
A reproducible error is not automatically a bug: first establish which contract it violates.
91 linesTypeScript29.9k starsBehavioral framingGood and bad pairs+2 more techniquesFile changed
Turso
tursodatabase/turso
Bans a specific list of metaphorical words and asks for plain language.
165 linesRust24.3k starsHouse vocabularyBehavioral framing+3 more techniquesFile changed
Temporal
temporalio/temporal
Opens by assigning the agent a persona and an output length limit.
105 linesGo23k starsBehavioral framingHard prohibitions+2 more techniquesFile changed
GitButler
gitbutlerapp/gitbutler
42 lines that open with the precedence order between instruction sources.
42 linesRust21.7k starsNested instruction filesBehavioral framing+1 more techniqueFile changed
Fresh
freshframework/fresh
Nine numbered steps of the request lifecycle, with the owning file at each hop.
156 linesTypeScript13.8k starsArchitecture as narrativeHard prohibitionsFile changed
Anarlog
fastrepl/anarlog
A green workflow is not proof that skipped native jobs tested the release candidate.
135 linesTypeScript9.3k starsVerification by change typeGenerated file guards+2 more techniquesFile changed
hunk
modem-dev/hunk
Documents a shared review seam as two ASCII data flows, then forbids re-deriving it in a renderer.
224 linesTypeScript9.3k starsArchitecture as narrativeRatchets+3 more techniquesFile changed
Workers SDK
cloudflare/workers-sdk
States that copied values go stale, and points at the config that defines them instead.
153 linesTypeScript4.5k starsPointing at the source of truthNested instruction files+2 more techniquesFile changed
Varlock
dmno-dev/varlock
Build ordering and paid review costs both become concrete rules for how agents work.
89 linesTypeScript4.4k starsHard prohibitionsPointing at the source of truth+2 more techniquesFile changed
Different projects. Recurring ideas.
Explore all 14 techniques