Anthropic adds agents.md support to Claude Code in version 2.1.277
Anthropic announced that Claude Code version 2.1.277 will look for an AGENTS.md file when a CLAUDE.md file is absent, allowing the coding agent to use the same markdown‑based instruction format that OpenAI’s Codex and other agents already support. The change was posted by Anthropic technical staff member Thariq Shihipar on X, noting that the new behavior can be toggled with the /config command.
Key points
- Claude Code 2.1.277 reads AGENTS.md if CLAUDE.md is missing.
- Shared AGENTS.md reduces instruction‑file maintenance across coding agents.
- Feature‑flag requirement blocks AGENTS.md on Bedrock, Vertex AI, or when telemetry is disabled.
Amit Kumar Jena, AI development head at consulting firm Kanerika, said the shared instruction file could eliminate busywork and reduce maintenance debt in monorepos that run multiple coding agents. Forrester’s Charlie Dai added that a common format may help enterprises enforce coding conventions and compliance. However, Jena cautioned that Claude‑specific features in CLAUDE.md may not translate perfectly to AGENTS.md, and that AGENTS.md support depends on fetching feature flags from Anthropic. Environments such as Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI, or setups with telemetry disabled may fall back to CLAUDE.md.
Claude Code now also accepts instructions in OpenAI’s Agents.md format
infoworld.com · 21 September 2026
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