Configuration schema

agentbriefer.yaml is the source of truth for a project's generated instructions. Commit it so the team reviews changes to agent behavior like any other development policy.

Complete example

agentbriefer.yaml

developer:
  style: practical
  explanation_style: tradeoff-based

project:
  project_type: backend-api
  stack:
    language: rust
    framework: axum
    database: postgresql
    testing_tools:
      - cargo test
    package_manager: cargo
    key_dependencies:
      - tokio
      - serde
  architecture_style: simple-layered
  security_level: strict
  testing_level: practical
  dependency_policy: explain-first

stop_rules:
  - Stop before changing the public API.
  - Stop before adding a production dependency.

skills:
  - secure-api
  - testing

custom_instructions: |
  Prefer small, reviewable patches.
  Keep database migrations backward compatible.

outputs:
  - agents-md
  - claude-md
  - cursor-rules
  - copilot-instructions

Top-level fields

Field	Required	Description
extends	No	Reusable developer profile to inherit before applying project values.
developer	Yes	Preferred working and explanation styles.
project	Yes	Project type and detected or curated stack context.
stop_rules	No	Explicit conditions that require the agent to pause. Defaults to [].
skills	No	Ordered names of bundled or installed skills. Defaults to [].
custom_instructions	No	Project-specific guidance that does not fit another field.
outputs	No	Files to generate. Defaults to all supported outputs.

Use only the documented field names. YAML syntax and invalid enum values are rejected; review the generated result because unrecognized extra mapping fields are not part of the supported schema.

Developer preferences

developer.style

Choose one of:

• minimal
• practical
• learning-focused
• enterprise
• security-first

developer.explanation_style

Choose one of:

• short
• beginner-friendly
• detailed
• tradeoff-based

Project values

project.project_type

Choose one of:

• backend-api
• frontend-app
• cli-tool
• full-stack-app
• library
• documentation-heavy

project.stack

language is required. framework, database, package_manager, and key_dependencies are optional context; testing_tools and key_dependencies default to empty lists.

Detection is a starting point, not a constraint. Keep product-specific details that a manifest cannot infer, and remove incidental dependencies that should not influence agent decisions.

Policy values

Field	Supported values
project.architecture_style	simple, simple-layered, feature-based, advanced
project.security_level	basic, standard, strict
project.testing_level	light, practical, strict
project.dependency_policy	allow, explain-first, ask-first

Output values

Value	Generated path
agents-md	AGENTS.md
claude-md	CLAUDE.md
cursor-rules	.cursor/rules/agentbriefer.mdc
copilot-instructions	.github/copilot-instructions.md

See Outputs for platform behavior and safe synchronization.

Precedence

extends records which saved developer profile was copied into the project. It is informational: generation does not resolve or merge the saved profile again. The concrete developer values in the project are always authoritative. Skills are resolved in their configured order at render time.

After any manual edit, run:

agentbriefer doctor
agentbriefer sync