A Short AGENTS.md Template

Use this as a starting point for a project with a builder and a reviewer. Adapt it to the project's rules; merge it into an existing instruction file rather than replacing that file. Add or link the project's architecture, conventions and actual build/test commands separately.

# Project collaboration

## Goal and scope
- Work toward the user's outcome and agreed completion criteria. State material assumptions.
- Check current files, commands and behavior before changing them; separate facts from inferences.
- Make routine decisions within the agreed scope. Ask when authority, missing information or a real product tradeoff prevents progress.
- Prefer the simplest complete solution; reuse mechanisms whose semantics fit.
- Prioritize work and review findings by user impact and cost; avoid speculative complexity.

## Working together
- Before parallel edits, agree on file/module ownership and check which checkout each member uses.
- Form your own view before reading another member's review. Challenge substantive risks with evidence and alternatives.
- Share useful problems and findings while work is still open, not only at the final handoff.
- Keep the current goal, constraints, durable tasks and handoffs in CCCC; keep project rules in this file.
- When collaboration friction recurs, identify its cause and propose a small improvement. Check its effect the next time it applies.

## Review and handoff
- Review the whole change against the goal, then check correctness and failure paths. Agree who runs checks that share build or service resources.
- Report what changed, the evidence, and what remains uncertain; correct mistaken claims promptly.
- At handoff, name the checkout/branch, changed files, validation and person responsible for integration.
- Preserve unrelated edits and useful history. Permission to edit or commit does not authorize pushing, publishing, deploying or interrupting the user's services.

This is project guidance, not a replacement for CCCC's built-in routing and collaboration protocol. Use the existing brief and task tools for changing work state instead of turning the instruction file into a chat log.

CCCC's AGENTS.md editor saves the file; each runtime controls whether and when it reads project instructions. Confirm the intended instructions are loaded, and adapt the filename or native loading configuration when needed. See Best Practices for instruction loading and refresh.

Try it with the existing Builder + Reviewer Pair walkthrough. Start with a small real change, inspect the handoff, and adjust the project guidance from what the team actually needed.