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Why Your AGENTS.md File Goes Stale and How to Keep It Accurate

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AGENTS.md files, which instruct AI coding agents on how to operate within a repository, become unreliable the moment the underlying codebase changes without a corresponding update to the file. Unlike a stale README that a human reads with skepticism, an AI agent follows AGENTS.md instructions literally, executing outdated build commands or ignoring recently added guardrails without hesitation. Developers are advised to keep these files concise — between 20 and 50 lines — covering only verifiable facts such as real commands, key file locations, enforced conventions, and a mechanically checkable definition of done. Both hand-written files left unattended and AI-generated versions carry risks: the former silently rots, while the latter tends to bloat with vague instructions that reduce task success rates. The recommended discipline is to update AGENTS.md in the same pull request as any related code change, treating it with the same rigor as production code.

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