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A root AGENTS.md is a practical starting point for keeping durable project facts available as you move between coding agents—but it does not sync chat transcripts or each tool’s private memory. Keep shared project rules in version control, add each tool’s documented instruction or memory features where useful, and verify what a fresh session actually loaded.
Why a coding agent seems to forget your project
An agent’s behavior depends not only on its model, but also on the tools and context supplied by its harness. Cursor describes that setup as including system instructions and supplied context. If a new session does not receive your project’s conventions or decisions, it may behave as though it is starting from scratch.
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There is an important distinction: project instructions are durable guidance, not a saved conversation. A shared file can tell an agent how to run tests or where an architectural decision is documented; it does not make another tool inherit your previous chat, personal preferences, or automatically written memories.
What should go in the shared project file?
For repository-wide facts, create a concise root AGENTS.md and commit it with the project. Codex documents reading these files before work and supports combining global instructions with project-specific guidance and closer overrides. See OpenAI’s Codex instructions guide.
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Include information that is useful across sessions and difficult to infer reliably from the code:
- Setup, build, lint, and test commands, including any prerequisites.
- A brief architecture map pointing to the relevant directories or documents.
- Naming conventions and project-specific implementation patterns.
- Decisions or constraints that explain why a seemingly obvious change would be wrong.
Keep the file short enough to maintain. Do not turn it into a transcript, a full codebase dump, or a place for secrets. Put service-specific rules nearer to the code they govern when the tool supports scoped instructions. Codex documents closer instruction files as overrides, so a directory-level rule can refine repository-wide guidance.
How to make the instructions work across tools
A shared filename is useful only when each tool actually reads it. Support, precedence, and settings differ, so treat the root file as the common source of project facts—not as a universal synchronization mechanism.
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Codex documents global instructions and repository-level AGENTS.md files, with closer instructions taking precedence where applicable. Keep general project guidance in the root file and more specific rules near their relevant code. Check the running tool’s reported context or instructions rather than assuming that the expected chain loaded.
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Claude Code: distinguish instructions from auto-memory
Claude Code has two separate mechanisms. Human-authored CLAUDE.md files provide instructions; Claude-authored auto-memory records learnings and patterns. Anthropic documents auto-memory as repository-scoped and shared across worktrees, but it is still Claude Code’s memory—not a common store automatically available to other agents.
Claude Code’s support for reading AGENTS.md depends on the installed version and project configuration. Anthropic’s documentation also warns that a CLAUDE.md or CLAUDE.local.md in the working directory or an ancestor can prevent AGENTS.md from loading by default. If a project must share the common file in that setup, the documented option is to import it from CLAUDE.md with @AGENTS.md. Check the current Claude Code memory documentation, your installed version, and the loaded context (for example, with /context) before relying on it.
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Cursor: treat context as part of the setup
Cursor’s description of its agent harness helps explain why behavior can change when context changes: the harness includes system instructions and the context given to the agent. The cited documentation does not establish that Cursor automatically shares its context or memory with another tool. Keep project facts in the common file, then confirm what Cursor received in the session. See Cursor’s agent overview.
Gemini API work: connect documentation when freshness matters
When the problem is stale knowledge of a current Gemini API—not a missing project decision—Google documents agent skills and a Gemini Docs MCP server. Its setup guidance lists Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and VS Code support and provides configuration examples. The page, last updated October 6, 2026, also recommends a root project rules file and covers verification and troubleshooting, including restarting a tool if a newly configured skill or server is not detected. See Google’s Gemini agent setup guide.
Documentation access supplies current vendor guidance; it does not preserve your repository’s private decisions or preferences. Use it alongside project instructions, not in place of them.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which context mechanism should you use?
| Mechanism | Best for | Scope and sharing | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
Repository AGENTS.md |
Team-shared project facts and conventions | Version-controlled; Codex documents discovery | Other tools’ support and precedence vary. |
| Tool-specific auto-memory | Learnings and preferences accumulated by one tool | Claude Code documents repository scope and sharing across worktrees | It is not automatically a universal memory layer. |
| Tool-specific instruction file or import | Additional rules or compatibility with a tool’s loader | Claude Code’s CLAUDE.md can import AGENTS.md |
Precedence and loading still need checking. |
| Documentation MCP or skills | Current vendor and API instructions | Google lists Gemini Docs MCP support across several coding tools | Fresh documentation does not retain private project decisions. |
How to verify a fresh session has the right context
- Open a fresh session in each tool you use for the repository.
- Ask the agent to identify the project instruction files it loaded and summarize one specific convention from the shared file.
- Compare the answer with the file and the tool’s context or configuration view. If a file is missing, check version, settings, working directory, and precedence before editing the instructions.
- For current API questions, ask the agent to retrieve the relevant documentation through the configured skill or MCP server, then check that it is using the documentation you intended.
This small check catches a common failure: the right rules exist in the repository, but a particular tool or session never received them.
Quick Recap
Keep shared memory useful and safe
- Review agent-written memories before promoting their contents into team instructions; a one-off correction may not be a durable project rule.
- Keep secrets and credentials out of committed context files.
- Use client settings and other enforceable controls for prohibited actions. Prose instructions provide context, but they are not a security boundary.
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