agents-md-maintainer · git:20260427.04641ed · 2026-04-27 · sha256 ab61a91bc57c677f
agents-md-maintainer git:20260427.04641edA
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--- name: "agents-md-maintainer" description: "AGENTS.md maintenance rules for deciding when durable repo guidance should be updated after implementation." --- Use this skill after nontrivial implementation work and before finalizing when you need to decide whether `AGENTS.md` should change. ## Rules - Treat `AGENTS.md` as durable repo guidance, not a task log. - Run a brief `AGENTS.md` maintenance pass at the end of implementation. - Do not modify `AGENTS.md` unless the implemented code, tests, and docs state already proves the new rule. - Update `AGENTS.md` only for durable repo-wide guidance such as: - required build, test, lint, typecheck, or verification commands - architecture invariants or hard constraints - canonical data shapes, contracts, directory ownership, or file locations - repo-wide coding, review, or release expectations - recurring failure modes that future sessions must avoid - Do not update `AGENTS.md` for one-off feature details, branch context, temporary migrations, issue notes, task plans, historical summaries, or implementation narration. - Keep edits minimal and high-signal. Prefer replacing, tightening, deduplicating, or deleting existing bullets over appending prose. - Keep `AGENTS.md` clean, concise, and production-facing. - Do not include working-session phrasing such as `Phase`, `plan`, `follow-up`, or similar developer-tracking language. - Write rules as short, concrete, imperative bullets that a coding agent can apply immediately in a new session with no prior chat context. - Keep root `AGENTS.md` limited to broadly applicable guidance. Put scoped rules in the nearest folder-level `AGENTS.md`. Put reusable workflows in skills or referenced docs. - Ensure every `AGENTS.md` edit matches the current codebase exactly, and remove stale or superseded guidance in the same pass. - Use `$reducing-entropy`, `$clean-code`, and `$hard-cut` when deciding whether guidance should be added, tightened, or deleted. - If delegation is allowed and helpful, use a small subagent to compare the implemented diff against `AGENTS.md` and propose the smallest valid patch. - Before finishing, verify that each `AGENTS.md` change is: - durable - repo-relevant - non-duplicative - consistent with current code and tests - useful to a coding agent starting from zero context - Leave `AGENTS.md` unchanged if any of those checks fail. ## Workflow 1. Compare the implemented diff against the current `AGENTS.md`. 2. Decide whether the completed work changed durable repo guidance. 3. Stop if the answer is no. 4. If the answer is yes, make the smallest valid patch. 5. Re-check the edited guidance against the current codebase, tests, and docs. 6. Delete or tighten any stale, duplicated, or superseded bullets in the same pass. ## Examples - Update `AGENTS.md` if the repo now requires a new canonical verification command before completion. - Do not update `AGENTS.md` if the work only added a feature-specific route, component, or migration note.