AI-native development · Glossary term
What are Repository Instructions?
Version-controlled guidance that tells coding agents how a repository is organized, which commands and conventions apply, what boundaries to respect, and how to verify work.
Why do Repository Instructions matter?
It turns repeated tribal knowledge into local context that travels with the code and can vary by subproject.
Repository Instructions in practice
Keep an `AGENTS.md` at the repository root, add narrower files for subdirectories, and include exact build, test, generated-file, security, and contribution rules.
What is the common confusion about Repository Instructions?
Repository instructions complement source code and human documentation; they do not override the user's current request or guarantee that an agent follows them correctly.
Learn Repository Instructions in the course
Lessons that name Repository Instructions in a title or section
- Agent Skills: Portable Contract and Runtime Boundary
A skill is not a long prompt with a better filename. It is a discoverable package of instructions, resources, and executable helpers that enters an agent's context through a runtime contract.
Covered in Phase 13: Tools & Protocols.
Related terms
- Repository MapA compact, maintained description of a repository's important directories, ownership boundaries, entry points, build commands, tests,…
- Scope ContractA concrete agreement that defines a task's goal, allowed and forbidden surfaces, expected artifacts, verification requirements, and…
- Coding AgentAn agent specialized for software work that can inspect a repository, edit files, run development tools, and use their outputs to advance…
- Progressive DisclosureSupplying a person or model with the minimum useful context first, then revealing deeper detail when the task or evidence requires it.
- Reproducible BuildA build whose declared source, environment, and instructions can be independently rerun to produce bit-for-bit identical specified…
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