What is AGENTS.md and which open-source tools read it — how widely is it adopted compared to llms.txt?

AGENTS.md is the emerging format for guiding coding agents, just beginning to carve out its niche, while llms.txt has already established a more extensive footprint across open-source projects. The adoption landscape is intriguing, highlighting the early promise of AGENTS.md without overshadowing the entrenched presence of llms.txt.

AGENTS.md Overview

1. AGENTS.md by agentsmd: A format designed for guiding coding agents. It boasts 24,638 stars and remains actively maintained (last push: 16 days ago). It has 179 open issues and is under the MIT license.
2. awesome-design-md by VoltAgent: Although focusing on design-based guides, it utilizes AGENTS.md for generating matching UIs. This repo has a remarkable 118,293 stars and is also actively maintained (pushed 6 days ago).
3. SkillOpt by Microsoft: While it primarily deals with optimizing natural-language skills for LLM agents, it references AGENTS.md and has 17,642 stars.

llms.txt Overview

1. llms.txt by AnswerDotAI: This repo aims to aid language models in utilizing your website. It has 2,635 stars, is actively maintained, and shows robust adoption (last push: 2 days ago).
2. claude-seo by AgriciDaniel: Integrates llms.txt within its extensive SEO framework, holding 17,784 stars and remaining actively maintained (last push: 3 days ago).
3. llms-txt-hub by thedaviddias: Acts as a directory for tools implementing the llms.txt standard, with 907 stars and actively maintained status (last push: 0 days ago).

Adoption Comparison

Conclusion

AGENTS.md is gaining traction but is still a newcomer compared to the more extensively utilized llms.txt. The diverse applications and higher star counts of llms.txt suggest a broader acceptance and integration into current projects. Use AGENTS.md if you're building the future of coding agents, but for now, llms.txt remains the safer bet for more established projects.