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Claude Code Now Reads AGENTS.md as Project Instructions

Support lands in version 2.1.277, built on Claude Code mods.

Sourced from X (@trq212)This week

Claude Code version 2.1.277 adds AGENTS.md support. If no CLAUDE.md file exists in a folder, Claude now checks for and uses AGENTS.md instead. The fallback is automatic, requiring no extra configuration from the operator.

The feature is built on Claude Code mods, Anthropic's upcoming system for customizing the Claude Code harness. AGENTS.md support ships as a built-in mod, but operators will also be able to build custom versions of project instructions. Simon Willison's Weblog surfaced the announcement via a quote from Thariq Shihipar.

Watch the mods layer, not this single file format. If Claude Code mods become the standard way to ship project-level behavior, Anthropic controls the customization surface. Operators who rely on third-party agent frameworks using AGENTS.md now have a direct path in, but on Anthropic's infrastructure terms.

Analysis

The interesting part is who replied. Thibault Sottiaux of OpenAI answered "this is the way", which is a competitor endorsing a rival's move toward a shared standard, and the loudest pushback was that supporting AGENTS.md is bare-minimum rather than generous. Both readings point the same way: the file format is settling into a convention no single vendor owns, and the question underneath is Claude Code mods, the customisation layer this shipped on top of.

X postRead at X (@trq212)x.com

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Title: Claude Code Now Reads AGENTS.md as Project Instructions
Summary: Anthropic's Claude Code now checks for AGENTS.md when no CLAUDE.md is present, starting in version 2.1.277. The feature is built on Claude Code mods, an upcoming customization layer for the tool's harness.
Category: Models
Source: X (@trq212), https://x.com/trq212/status/2101009392611278961

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