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Augment reads every AGENTS.md on a file’s path

Augment Code reads Ultracite’s rules from the workspace-root AGENTS.md in its VS Code and JetBrains extensions and in the Auggie CLI, and adds any AGENTS.md between an edited file and the root. Ultracite doesn’t set up a hook for it, so Augment runs ultracite fix and ultracite check when the rules tell it to.

Augment Code by Augment CodeChecked against Auggie CLI 0.36.0

# Ultracite Code Standards

This project uses **Ultracite**, a zero-config preset that enforces strict code quality standards through automated formatting and linting.

## Quick Reference

- **Format code**: `npx ultracite fix`
- **Check for issues**: `npx ultracite check`
- **Diagnose setup**: `npx ultracite doctor`

Oxlint + Oxfmt (the underlying engine) provides robust linting and formatting. Most issues are automatically fixable.

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Ultracite’s rules
Where Augment Code looks for instructions
  1. 1--rules <file>Auggie only: a file passed with --rules, appended to the workspace guidelines.
  2. 2CLAUDE.mdRead for compatibility with Claude Code, and found in subfolders the same way as AGENTS.md.
  3. 3AGENTS.mdUltraciteThe workspace-root file init writes, included in every prompt.
  4. 4.augment-guidelinesWorkspace guidelines at the root. The IDE imports them as rules.
  5. 5.augment/rules/Workspace rules, searched recursively at the root only. Frontmatter decides whether each always applies or is attached when relevant.
  6. 6~/.augment/rules/Your rules for every workspace, always applied whatever their frontmatter says.

How Augment Code reads the rules

The extensions and Auggie share one rules system. The root AGENTS.md sits in a list with CLAUDE.md, .augment-guidelines and .augment/rules/, and nested AGENTS.md files join when Augment works in their folders.

Nested files
Only AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md load from subfolders, from the edited file’s folder up to the workspace root. Files in sibling folders stay out.
Manual rules
Auggie skips type: manual rules, since the CLI has no @-mention to attach them. Only the IDE does.
User guidelines
In VS Code they live in ~/.augment/user-guidelines.md. Guidelines set in VS Code don’t carry over to JetBrains IDEs, or the other way round.
Size
In the IDE, workspace guidelines and rules share a 49,512-character limit; user guidelines get 24,576.
Check it
auggie rules list prints the rules and guidelines Auggie found in the workspace.
Duplicates
Rules are cached per conversation, so a file Augment finds twice isn’t included twice.

AGENTS.md drives it; hooks are up to you

Ultracite doesn’t configure a hook for Augment, so after an edit Augment runs ultracite fix when AGENTS.md tells it to. Auggie does have a PostToolUse event that receives the changed files and can return additionalContext to the agent, but it can’t block, each hook command must be a .sh, .ps1, .cmd or .bat script, and a workspace’s .augment/settings.json is read by the CLI only.

- **Format code**: `npx ultracite fix`
- **Check for issues**: `npx ultracite check`
- **Diagnose setup**: `npx ultracite doctor`
What the rules tell it to run
  1. 01Augment edits or creates a file.
  2. 02Following AGENTS.md, it runs npx ultracite fix in its terminal.
  3. 03It reads what’s left in the output and fixes it before it finishes.

Worth knowing about Augment Code

  • Permissions that apply in the cloud too

    toolPermissions in .augment/settings.json are honored by Auggie and by Cosmos cloud agents, though not by the IDE extensions. A terminal rule with shellInputRegex allows or denies commands by pattern, and when policies disagree, the most restrictive rule wins.

  • Auggie runs headless

    auggie --print runs one instruction and exits, --output-format json returns structured output and --max-turns caps the run, so a CI job can ask Auggie to fix what ultracite check reports.

  • Scope the rest of your rules

    Set a rule in .augment/rules/ to agent_requested with a description, and Augment attaches it only when it judges the rule relevant, which saves context. Ultracite’s rules stay in AGENTS.md, which is always included.

  • The Ultracite skill

    Augment loads skills from .augment/skills/, .claude/skills/ and .agents/skills/, in the workspace or your home folder, so it finds the Ultracite skill init installs in .agents/skills/ (and in .augment/skills/ when the project has a .augment folder). /skills in Auggie lists what loaded.

Augment Code questions, answered

Does Augment Code read AGENTS.md?
Yes, in the VS Code and JetBrains extensions and in the Auggie CLI. The workspace-root file is always included, and an AGENTS.md in a subfolder joins when Augment works on files under it.
Does Augment read CLAUDE.md as well?
Yes. Auggie lists CLAUDE.md just ahead of AGENTS.md, and both are discovered in subfolders. If you keep both, make sure they agree on how the project lints and formats.
How do I see which rules Auggie loaded?
Run auggie rules list in the workspace. It prints the rules and guidelines Auggie detected there.
Does Augment support hooks?
Auggie does: PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop, SessionStart and SessionEnd, configured in settings.json. A workspace’s .augment/settings.json is read by the CLI only; the IDE extensions read ~/.augment/settings.json and the system file. Ultracite doesn’t configure Augment hooks.
Why does a rule work in the IDE but not in Auggie?
It’s probably a Manual rule. Auggie skips type: manual rules because the CLI has no @-mention to attach them; switch the rule to always_apply or agent_requested.

Sources

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