Cross-target behavior

Notes

Targets left out

Memory and local state

Global output

One spec can become different files for each tool. A rule becomes .claude/rules/<name>.md for Claude Code and a section of AGENTS.md for Codex. Tools also have different file discovery rules, permissions, and supported fields. Compare targets shows sample output; agnostic-ai compare checks your own specs.

Directory-specific instructions

A rule's scope limits it to a directory, through native file conditions or nested instruction files. Tools differ in support and in when they load the rule: some at the repository root, some while editing. Check directory-specific instructions before you share scoped rules.

Entry-point files

Sync copies .agnostic-ai/AGNOSTIC_AI.md into each selected tool's instruction file. The next sync overwrites edits to those copies. See entry-point files for what to write in the source.

Tools that share a path get one write. Junie also has its preferred .junie/AGENTS.md. Claude can import identical shared instructions from AGENTS.md. Cursor and Continue get rule files, not a root instruction file. Each target page explains how that tool finds its files.

Inlined rules

Some tools read no separate rule directory. Sync puts their project-wide rules below the shared body in a marked ## Rules block. Augment and Kilo use that block too, though they have rule directories. OpenHands uses it for always-on rules; path-triggered rules become skills. Qwen Code uses it for rules without file patterns; a rule with globs goes to .qwen/rules/ and loads when a matching file is read or edited.

Cline, Kiro, Qoder, Kilo, and Augment skip a native rule file when its body already appears in the root AGENTS.md they read. File-conditioned rules and tool-specific bodies keep their own files. Keep AGENTS.md enabled in Cline's Rules panel and Qoder's context file list, or those tools miss the shared rules.

Trae keeps every rule file because reading AGENTS.md is optional. Windsurf keeps them for legacy compatibility. Enabling those tools beside an inlining target can load the same rule twice.

A tool whose entry point moves off root AGENTS.md keeps its separate rule files. Listing AGENTS.md in sync.unmanaged stops writes for every target that shares the file, not for one tool.

The next full sync removes obsolete generated rule files, even edited ones that still carry the generated header. Before that cleanup, sync --check, doctor, and status report ledger drift; doctor --fix removes it.

Shared settings files

Warp global voice settings use the same per-key ownership in its platform settings file; see Warp voice dictation.

In mergeable files such as .claude/settings.json, .gemini/settings.json, .cursor/cli.json, and opencode.json, sync records the keys it owns and keeps the rest. A generated key you left unchanged goes away when no spec produces it. A value you edited stays as an orphan; doctor --fix asks before removing it.

Sync tracks MCP servers in mergeable maps by name. A spec with the same name can replace your server and print a note. Name tracking does not apply to files sync rebuilds whole, such as Claude's .mcp.json or Cursor's .cursor/mcp.json. Check the target's import and overwrite behavior before the first sync.

When a target leaves the setup, cleanup removes only its recorded values. Sync deletes a shared settings file only when it created the file and nothing else remains. Invalid or edited orphan files stay for you to review.

Other entry-point options

A partial sync still refreshes shared instruction files for all configured readers, so the body matches a full sync. For the legacy merged rules file and sync.target-overview, see configuration.

Spec kind behavior

The tool support table lists generated output. Check each target's field support, trust requirements, and permission enforcement before relying on it.

Each spec reference has the details. on-unsupported sets what sync does with an unsupported kind. Coverage notes name the fields a tool converts or leaves out.

Shared skills and agent discovery

Many targets share .agents/skills/, and sync writes identical folders once. Crush and Goose share neutral skill frontmatter; Crush commands remain skipped at that shared path because their user-only flag cannot be kept. sync.shared-skills can replace identical copies in other directories with symlinks. A tool can also find folders written for another selected target, even when the spec excludes that tool.

Devin discovers .agents/agents/ profiles written for Goose, OpenHands, and Antigravity. Those profiles can lack Devin's allowed-tools, which defaults to all tools. A .devin/agents/ profile with the same name can also appear. targets: controls which adapter writes a file, not which tools read it, so check the profiles Devin finds for duplicate names and tool limits. Sync reports which targets write shared profiles. See Windsurf / Devin.

Hooks loaded through another tool

Cursor, Copilot, and Trae can read .claude/settings.json beside their own hook files, so a hook shared with Claude can run twice. Cursor reads it by default; Trae only when you opt in. Copilot has no switch to stop these reads. The target pages give the fix: Cursor, Copilot, Trae.

When both targets are selected, a portable hook's Claude copy exits under Cursor. Review other hooks yourself. Cursor can also ignore a Claude hook's args and run a bare interpreter; use a shell-form command or turn off compatibility reads.

Event names, tool matcher names, timeout units, and failure behavior differ by tool. Use portable events where a tool supports them, and test the native event before you rely on a guard.

Related

• Shared memory: one store every tool reads, beside each tool's own memory.
• Target selection: which tools sync writes by default.
• Global output: user-level files and the variables that move a tool's config folder.
• Adding adapters, or open an issue to request a target.