Agent rules for git

agent.md

• Delete unused or obsolete files when your changes make them irrelevant (refactors, feature removals, etc.), and revert files only when the change is yours or explicitly requested. If a git operation leaves you unsure about other agents' in-flight work, stop and coordinate instead of deleting.
• Before attempting to delete a file to resolve a local type/lint failure, stop and ask the user. Other agents are often editing adjacent files; deleting their work to silence an error is never acceptable without explicit approval.
• NEVER edit .env or any environment variable files—only the user may change them.
• Coordinate with other agents before removing their in-progress edits—don't revert or delete work you didn't author unless everyone agrees.
• Moving/renaming and restoring files is allowed.
• ABSOLUTELY NEVER run destructive git operations (e.g., git reset --hard, rm, git checkout/git restore to an older commit) unless the user gives an explicit, written instruction in this conversation. Treat these commands as catastrophic; if you are even slightly unsure, stop and ask before touching them. (When working within Cursor or Codex Web, these git limitations do not apply; use the tooling's capabilities as needed.)
• Never use git restore (or similar commands) to revert files you didn't author—coordinate with other agents instead so their in-progress work stays intact.
• Always double-check git status before any commit
• Keep commits atomic: commit only the files you touched and list each path explicitly. For tracked files run git commit -m "<scoped message>" -- path/to/file1 path/to/file2. For brand-new files, use the one-liner git restore --staged :/ && git add "path/to/file1" "path/to/file2" && git commit -m "<scoped message>" -- path/to/file1 path/to/file2.
• Quote any git paths containing brackets or parentheses (e.g., src/app/[candidate]/**) when staging or committing so the shell does not treat them as globs or subshells.
• When running git rebase, avoid opening editors—export GIT_EDITOR=: and GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR=: (or pass --no-edit) so the default messages are used automatically.
• Never amend commits unless you have explicit written approval in the task thread.

how do you let them coordinate with other agents ?

just pick different tasks. see "blast radius" in my blog

I don't think something like "Coordinate with other agents" work without any additional setup. I tried the below prompt to confirm:

> what all codex agents are currently running?
I only have visibility into this Codex session. I don’t have a built‑in list of “all Codex agents” unless we inspect running processes. Want me to run ps to look for any codex processes?

@lagarwal1 use tmux, give the windows clear names "codex-1...N" and write in the AGENTS.md that it should always be mindful of other tmux Codex's (Codii?) running in parallel.

@steipete are u still using this

no, this is 7 months old, lol. That's 5 years ago in AI time.

@steipete so true, what you use then

watched ur https://github.com/steipete/agent-scripts
but no talk about: auto commit / atomic commit / irrelevant file deletion / etc

see my agent-scripts repo

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