Trae (trae)

Trae reads AGENTS.md only when Include AGENTS.md in the context is on (Settings > Rules & Memories). So every rule keeps its .trae/rules/ file. With that switch on and codex or another tool that includes rules in instruction files enabled, always-on rules load twice. See target behavior.

Rules

Sync always writes description, globs, and alwaysApply (Cursor's .mdc fields for when a rule applies), because Trae documents no default for a file without them.

• alwaysApply is true, or false when the spec sets globs other than a catch-all such as **/*. A true rule omits globs.
• alwaysApply: false with no globs uses the Claude paths list, joined with commas.
• x-trae.scene: git_message marks a rule for AI-written commit messages.

Agents

(subagents docs): frontmatter carries name and description (required), plus optional model, tools, disallowedTools, and mcpServers. The body is the system prompt.

• tools is written as is, as a string joined with commas, because Trae uses Claude-style names (Bash, Edit, Glob, Grep, Read, Write, WebFetch, WebSearch, plus Skill, LSP, TodoWrite, and mcp__<server>__<tool>).
• Omit tools to load every available tool. An explicitly empty tool list (can: [], tools: [], tools: "", or x-trae.tools) writes tools: "", which disables all tools. Import preserves this restriction through later syncs.
• Trae accepts only its built-in model IDs (gpt-5.4, minimax-m3, ...). A generic model drops with a sync note. Use model: {trae: <id>} or x-trae.model.
• disallowedTools and mcpServers come from x-trae. x-trae.disallowedTools is a comma-separated list of blocked tools, and it wins over tools.
• Names start with an ASCII letter, end with a letter or digit, use only letters, digits, or hyphens, and run at most 50 characters. Sync rejects any other name.
• Subagents need Settings > Beta > Subagents > Enable Subagents Directory. Trae does not say whether it is on by default.

Skills

(skills docs): .trae/skills/<name>/SKILL.md with name and description. Files next to the skill (examples/, templates/, resources/) are copied as they are. A flat file under .trae/rules/ never loads as a skill.

Commands

(slash-commands docs): only name and description frontmatter (the documented fields), with the body as the prompt. Trae reads commands up to 3 levels deep, and sync writes them flat.

MCP servers

(MCP docs): a root mcpServers map. Stdio entries carry command (required), args, and env. HTTP entries carry url (required) and headers. Trae works out the type from command or url, so none is written.

• A stdio command with spaces fails to parse in Trae.
• Trae has no per-server disabled key, only a project toggle (Settings > MCP). disabled: true is dropped with a sync note.

Hooks

.trae/hooks.json, the project tier of Trae's hook configuration. agnostic-ai hook run tests them before a session, using Trae's event data, shell, and timeout.

• A version field (always 1) wraps the hooks map. Each event holds {matcher, hooks: [{type, command, timeout}]} groups. Claude Code, Codex, OpenHands, and Qoder use the same shape, so one hook spec feeds all five.
• Six events: SessionStart, UserPromptSubmit, PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop, Notification. Each entry takes type (only command), command, and timeout (seconds, default 30).
• loop_limit caps how often a Stop hook can block the agent (default 5).
• Hook tool_name values differ from subagent tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, LS, RunCommand, WebSearch, WebFetch, AskUserQuestion, Skill, and mcp__<serverName>__<toolName>. There is no TodoWrite. The terminal tool is RunCommand, so matcher: Bash is written as is, raises a sync note, and matches nothing.
• matcher applies to PreToolUse, PostToolUse, and Notification only. On Notification it selects a type (idle_prompt, permission_prompt, ...).
• Project hooks do nothing until you enable them under Settings > Hooks and accept the security warning.
• Trae also runs Claude Code's hooks from .claude/settings.json and .claude/settings.local.json once you turn on Import Hook configuration in CLAUDE (off by default, same warning). Syncing claude and trae then runs every hook twice.

Ignore

(ignore docs): the file Trae's Settings > Indexing & Docs creates. It adds to .gitignore, which Trae already honors, and keeps paths out of indexing and @Folder context. Specs are joined. Override with outputs.trae.ignore-file. Run a Build under Settings > Indexing & Docs after a sync, because the change applies only after re-indexing.

Shared memory

With builtins: [memory], sync adds the native memory-trae-session-start hook for SessionStart to .trae/hooks.json. Once you enable project hooks in Settings > Hooks, it runs agnostic-ai project -- hook memory --target trae before the first message and adds up to 6,000 bytes from the personal and project memory indexes. Trae's own Memories stay available.

Trae sets TRAE_PROJECT_DIR to the workspace used by the hook, so the command finds that project's indexes even when its shell starts elsewhere. The command uses the project's installed agnostic-ai package when one is declared; install or upgrade that package before starting Trae. If hooks are disabled, the shared memory rule still tells Trae to read the indexes.