FIELD GUIDE

AGENTS.md vs CLAUDE.md vs GEMINI.md

Separate tool instructions from operational memory and avoid duplicated or conflicting rules.

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About this guide

This guide was prepared with AI assistance using the project’s public documentation. It does not claim testing on every device or independent human review. Project publisher: AmirSina Zamanian.

Sources are listed at the end. Use the project repository to report an error or suggest a correction. Report an issue

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What is the difference?

These are text files for tool guidance, not a shared conversation database. Codex uses AGENTS.md, Claude Code uses CLAUDE.md, and Gemini CLI uses GEMINI.md for relevant instructions and context; discovery and precedence differ. In Personal Agentic OS, selected tools determine which adapter files are created. Keep stable rules concise and review changing project state through the context pack.
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AGENTS.md for Codex

Codex supports user and project instruction scopes; file placement in the directory hierarchy matters. Before blaming unexpected behavior on project memory, inspect the effective instruction files. A new adapter must not silently replace repository guidance: review the differences first.
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CLAUDE.md for Claude Code

Claude Code distinguishes CLAUDE.md instructions from automatic memory. Use the file for project conventions and workflow, not as a warehouse for every output. When a shared rule changes, review the other adapters too: the same project name does not imply identical active instructions in two tools.
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GEMINI.md for Gemini CLI

Gemini CLI gathers context from multiple scopes. Its documentation describes /memory show for inspecting loaded context and /memory reload for reloading it. These are commands inside Gemini CLI, not shell or Personal Agentic OS commands. After an instruction change, verify that the tool has loaded the new content.
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What if the file already exists?

The public 0.10.0 adapter writer refuses to overwrite an existing file. Before using a real repository, back up existing guidance and merge the needed content deliberately; deleting it to bypass an error is not a general solution. The accompanying lab demonstrates creation of two adapters in an empty directory, not successful loading by all three tools.
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Sources and next actions

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