> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vybe.build/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Instructions and AGENTS.md

> Write a coworker's standing instructions in AGENTS.md, and add organization-wide and personal instructions

AGENTS.md holds an AI coworker's standing instructions: who it is, how it works, and the rules it follows. Your coworker reads it with every request, in every channel. Write it once instead of repeating the same guidance in every message.

## Where to edit AGENTS.md

You can open AGENTS.md from two places:

* **Overview → Capabilities**, then click **Edit AGENTS.md**.
* **Knowledge → Notes**, then open the note named **AGENTS.md** ("How this agent works").

AGENTS.md is written in Markdown and can be up to 16,000 characters. Its title can't be changed. Only the coworker's owner can change it.

## What's in it by default

A new coworker starts with a short personality, a few rules, and an **Origin** section that records who created it:

```markdown theme={null}
# AGENTS.md

## Personality
- Help with substance. Skip the polite filler.
- Have opinions. Say when you disagree.
- Look for the answer yourself before you ask.
- You work inside the user's tools. Act like a careful guest.

## Rules
- Keep private things private.
- Ask before you act outside Vybe when you are not sure.
- Never speak as the user or pretend to be them.

## Origin
You were created by Alex Kim.
```

A coworker created for a department also gets a description of its role at the top. A coworker from the [gallery](https://docs.vybe.build/coworkers/creating-coworkers.md#start-from-a-ready-made-coworker) starts with that ready-made coworker's instructions instead. Keep what works and replace the rest.

## What to put in it

Use AGENTS.md for anything your coworker should always know or always do:

* **Role and scope.** Who it works for and what it's responsible for.
* **Context.** Your terminology, the tools you use, and where things live.
* **Communication.** Tone, format, length, and where to post what.
* **Rules.** What it should ask about first, and what it should never do.

Some things belong elsewhere:

| Instead of AGENTS.md | Use |
| - | - |
| A one-off request | A message in chat or Slack |
| Long reference material, or step-by-step procedures for specific tasks | Notes and skills in [Knowledge](https://docs.vybe.build/coworkers/knowledge.md) |
| Work that should happen on a schedule | [Scheduled tasks](https://docs.vybe.build/automations/scheduled-tasks.md) |
| What tools it may use | [Capabilities](https://docs.vybe.build/coworkers/capabilities.md) |

### Example

```markdown theme={null}
# AGENTS.md

## Role
You are the sales operations coworker for the Acme sales team.
You keep the pipeline clean and the team informed.

## Context
- Our CRM is HubSpot. A "deal" is a HubSpot deal. An "account" is a HubSpot company.
- Our fiscal year starts on February 1.
- "Active customer" means an account with a paid invoice in the last 90 days.

## Communication
- Be brief. Lead with the number, then the explanation.
- Post pipeline updates in #sales. Send anything about a single deal to its owner by DM.
- Format money in USD with no decimals, such as $12,400.

## Personality
- Help with substance. Skip the polite filler.
- Say when a deal looks at risk, even if nobody asked.

## Rules
- Ask before you email anyone outside the company.
- Never change a deal's amount or close date without the deal owner's OK.
- Keep private things private.
```

### Tips

> **Be specific**
>
> "Post updates in #sales by 9am" works better than "keep the team informed". Specific instructions get consistent results.

> **Keep it short**
>
> Your coworker reads AGENTS.md on every request. Move long reference material into notes and skills.

> **Use headings**
>
> Group related instructions under headings like Role, Context and Rules, so they're easy to scan and update.

> **Update as you go**
>
> When you correct your coworker twice about the same thing, add it to AGENTS.md. Remove rules that no longer apply.

Your coworker follows AGENTS.md unless it conflicts with Vybe's own platform rules.

## Ask your coworker to update it

If you own the coworker, you don't have to edit the file yourself. Tell it what to change in a chat in Vybe or in Slack. In conversation, it calls AGENTS.md "my instructions".

> From now on, post the weekly pipeline summary in #sales-leads instead of #sales. Add that to your instructions.

> Update your instructions: always include a link to the HubSpot deal when you mention one.

The coworker edits AGENTS.md, tells you in one line what changed, and gives you a link to review it. It only changes its instructions when its owner asks during a live conversation, never on its own during a scheduled task or trigger. If someone else asks how to change the way it works, it sends them the link to AGENTS.md.

## Organization and personal instructions

Two more layers of instructions sit on top of each coworker's AGENTS.md:

| Layer | Where | Who can edit | Applies to |
| - | - | - | - |
| AGENTS.md | The coworker's **Overview → Capabilities** or **Knowledge → Notes** | The coworker's owner | That coworker, everywhere it works |
| **Organization AI Instructions** | **Settings → Organization → General** | Owners and Admins | Every coworker in the organization, including scheduled tasks and triggers, and app building |
| **Custom AI Instructions** | **Settings → Personal → Preferences** | Each person, for themselves | Your own conversations with coworkers, in Vybe and in Slack, and your app building |

Use each layer for what it's best at:

* **Organization AI Instructions** for company-wide facts and conventions: data definitions, naming rules, what your metrics mean. They support Markdown, with **Edit** and **Preview** tabs.
* **Custom AI Instructions** for how you personally like to work, such as "Keep answers under five bullet points" or "I'm in the Paris office; use CET for times." The **Preferences** page is available to Owners, Admins and Editors.
* **AGENTS.md** for everything specific to one coworker.

Keep the layers from contradicting each other. If a company-wide rule changes, update it once in Organization AI Instructions rather than in every coworker's AGENTS.md.


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