Quoted passages are verbatim. Open one to see it in the source.
01 / Nested instruction files
A numbered precedence order
Three instruction sources are ranked in the opening lines: explicit human instructions, then the nearest nested AGENTS.md, then this file. The conflict case is answered before any rule is given.
Source excerpt starting at line 5.
5Apply all relevant instruction files. If instructions conflict, resolve them in6this order:781. Explicit human instructions92. Nearest nested `AGENTS.md`103. This file
02 / Behavioral framing
Questions treated as read-only
A question about the codebase does not imply permission to change it. The default is stated in one line at the top of the working style section.
Source excerpt starting at line 23.
23- Treat questions about the codebase as read-only unless the user asks for changes.
03 / From this file
Reproduce before adding machinery
A behavior bug is to be reproduced in a failing test first, and the existing loops and classifications in the target file surveyed as candidate homes for the fix. The tests, rather than the diagnosis, are named as what sets how much implementation the fix needs.
Source excerpt starting at line 35.
35 hosts; let the tests, not the diagnosis, set how much implementation the fix needs.
04 / From this file
Propose a new mechanism before building it
A fix requiring a new module, a new public API, or a parallel walk where one already exists is to be proposed in shape before implementation.
05 / From this file
A cross-surface completion check
Before shared behavior is called done, each applicable surface is checked and either updated or explicitly determined to be unaffected. Six surfaces and docs are named.
Source excerpt starting at line 29.
29- Before declaring shared behavior done, check each applicable surface and contract30 (desktop, web, Lite, CLI/TUI, N-API, SDK, and docs) and update it or explicitly31 determine that it is unaffected.
Put it to work
Borrow this for your repo
01If you have nested instruction files, state the precedence order in the first paragraph.
02State that a question is a question. Agents otherwise read "why does this happen" as "fix this".
03List the surfaces that shared behavior has to reach, and require each to be checked or ruled out by name.
GitButler's file tells an agent how the codebase works. It cannot tell it which bug three customers hit this week. Modem keeps that context current and attaches it to the work.