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Content and presentation of information in AI configuration files

Identify the types of information open-source developers include in AI configuration files and characterize how this information is presented and structured within those files.

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Background

AI configuration files serve as machine-readable documentation for AI agents, potentially covering commands, architecture, conventions, workflows, and more. Projects vary widely in both content and stylistic choices (descriptive, prescriptive, prohibitive, explanatory, conditional).

A systematic characterization of included information and its presentation is needed to inform best practices and assess how these choices influence agent behavior and output quality.

References

Important unanswered questions include: RQ2 What information do open-source developers provide in AI configuration files and how do they present it?

— Context Engineering for AI Agents in Open-Source Software (2510.21413 - Mohsenimofidi et al., 24 Oct 2025) in Introduction (Section 1), list of research questions