AGENTS.md · JSON Structure

Agents Md File Structure

Representation of an AGENTS.md file's structured content providing context and instructions to AI coding agents.

Type: object Properties: 11 Required: 1
AI AgentsAI CopilotCoding StandardsDeveloper WorkflowOpen StandardDocumentation

AgentsMdFile is a JSON Structure definition published by AGENTS.md, describing 11 properties, of which 1 is required. It conforms to the https://json-structure.org/meta/core/v0/# meta-schema.

Properties

filename location project_name description build_commands test_commands lint_commands coding_standards security_notes created modified

Meta-schema: https://json-structure.org/meta/core/v0/#

JSON Structure

agents-md-file-structure.json Raw ↑
{
  "$schema": "https://json-structure.org/meta/core/v0/#",
  "$id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/agents-md/refs/heads/main/json-structure/agents-md-file-structure.json",
  "name": "AgentsMdFile",
  "description": "Representation of an AGENTS.md file's structured content providing context and instructions to AI coding agents.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "filename": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The filename, typically AGENTS.md.",
      "example": "AGENTS.md"
    },
    "location": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "File path within the repository.",
      "example": "/AGENTS.md"
    },
    "project_name": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Name of the project or subproject this file applies to.",
      "example": "My API Service"
    },
    "description": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Brief description of the project's purpose and architecture.",
      "example": "A REST API service built with FastAPI and PostgreSQL."
    },
    "build_commands": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Commands for building the project.",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "label": {
            "type": "string",
            "example": "Install dependencies"
          },
          "command": {
            "type": "string",
            "example": "pip install -r requirements.txt"
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "test_commands": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Commands for running tests.",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "label": {
            "type": "string",
            "example": "Run unit tests"
          },
          "command": {
            "type": "string",
            "example": "pytest tests/ -v"
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "lint_commands": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Commands for linting and formatting code.",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "label": {
            "type": "string",
            "example": "Lint code"
          },
          "command": {
            "type": "string",
            "example": "ruff check . && black --check ."
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "coding_standards": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Coding conventions and style guidelines for the project.",
      "items": {
        "type": "string"
      },
      "example": [
        "Use snake_case for Python identifiers",
        "Keep functions under 50 lines"
      ]
    },
    "security_notes": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Security considerations and sensitive file locations agents should be aware of.",
      "items": {
        "type": "string"
      },
      "example": [
        "Never commit .env files",
        "Secrets are stored in AWS Secrets Manager"
      ]
    },
    "created": {
      "type": "date",
      "description": "Date the AGENTS.md file was created.",
      "example": "2026-01-15"
    },
    "modified": {
      "type": "date",
      "description": "Date the AGENTS.md file was last modified.",
      "example": "2026-04-19"
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "filename"
  ]
}