Originally published on rohitraj.tech
Claude Code 2.1.277 added native AGENTS.md support on 18 September 2026 — then loaded it only when a remote feature flag came back on, so telemetry-disabled sessions and every Bedrock, Vertex and gateway user silently got nothing until 2.1.280. Here is the real four-mode precedence matrix, a two-command test that proves which file your agent read, and the four limitations the docs list and nobody repeats.
Read the full version with code samples, diagrams, and architecture details: Claude Code and AGENTS.md in 2026: Which Instruction File Actually Loads
Work with me: Claude Code Consultant · MCP Integration Consultant · Fractional Forward Deployed Engineer
More engineering notes: rohitraj.tech/notes
Top comments (0)