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Project instructions

Outcome: Atomic loads your repository’s conventions automatically in every session. Prerequisites: First session is complete.

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Give Atomic project instructions

Atomic loads context files at startup. Add an AGENTS.md file to tell it how to work in a project:
Atomic loads:
  • ~/.atomic/agent/AGENTS.override.md, AGENTS.md, or CLAUDE.md for global instructions (legacy ~/.pi/agent/ also works)
  • AGENTS.override.md, AGENTS.md, or CLAUDE.md from parent directories and the current directory
An AGENTS.override.md file replaces the other context files in its directory. Restart Atomic, or run /reload, after changing context files.

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Verify Atomic loaded them

With AGENTS.md saved, run /reload (or restart Atomic), then ask:
Expected result: the answer restates your own rules — the bun run typecheck line above, or whatever you wrote — rather than generic advice. A generic answer means the file was not picked up: confirm it is named AGENTS.md, that it sits in the directory you started Atomic from or one of its parents, and that no AGENTS.override.md in the same directory is replacing it.

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Next step

Continue to Interactive use, then Configuration.