Agent Project Scaffold: the five-section AGENTS.md and a six-check scan (free sample)
by PaperChaseWebb
The five sections every AGENTS.md needs (purpose, scope, approval rule, where things live, done means) and a read-only script that checks one AGENTS.md for length, missing sections and secret keys.
- Price
- Free
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Setup
- 5 min
- Format
- .md file
agent-project-scaffold-agents-md-check-free-sample.md · 2 KB · direct download, no signup
What you end up with
Your AGENTS.md is short, scoped and says who approves.
What you get
- The five sections, explained
- agents_md_check.py: six read-only checks
- One prompt for your agent
Who it is for
Anyone who wants a quick check on their AGENTS.md.
Works with
Solid chips: the agent is named in this listing's own tools list. Dashed chip: Plain Markdown, so it also pastes into other agents such as Grok Bot, Hermes, OpenClaw or Muse. We list those as compatible by format only, not as tested.
Tools needed
Cost to run: Free.
Time to result: About five minutes
Sample prompts, free to use
Run python3 agents_md_check.py AGENTS.md and tell me what is missing. Propose text for each missing section, but do not write the Approval rule for me.
The script is in the file.
Free preview of the file
# Agent Project Scaffold: free AGENTS.md check
**Six read-only checks on one AGENTS.md, so the rules every agent reads first are short, scoped and say who approves.**
## The five sections that matter
1. **Purpose**: one or two lines on what this project is for.
2. **Scope**: what is in, and what is out (production, money, messages to people).
3. **Approval rule**: draft, prepared, approved and sent are four states. Nothing is sent, posted, deployed, bought, deleted or merged without the owner's written yes.
4. **Where things live**: rules/, commands/, skills/, agents/, hooks/.
5. **Done means**: the check passes and the agent says what it ran and what it did not test.
Keep it under 120 lines. Claude Code reads it through a one-line CLAUDE.md (`@AGENTS.md`); Codex and Hermes read it directly; paste it into Grok Bot as a standing instruction.
## Run it
`python3 agents_md_check.py AGENTS.md`
Prompt for any agent:
> Run python3 agents_md_check.py AGENTS.md and tell me what is missing. Propose text for each missing section, but do not write the Approval rule for me.
#### file: mini/agents_md_check.py
~~~~python
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Agent Project Scaffold free sample: six read-only checks on one AGENTS.md. Python 3.8+.
Usage: python3 agents_md_check.py AGENTS.md"""
import re, sys
def check(t):
F = []
if len(t.splitlines()) > 120: F.append("M01 over 120 lines; agents skim long rule files. Move detail into rules/")
for h, c in (("Purpose", "M02"), ("Scope", "Test record
- Date
- Nov 1, 2026
- What was run
- tests/test_mini.py (2) on Linux, Python 3.8, 3.9, 3.11, 3.12 and 3.13.
- Result
- 2 passed on all five versions; the template passes and each of six faults is caught.
- Not run
- Everything the full kit does.
Copied from this item's dated test notes. What was not run stays in.
Worth knowing
- The sample checks one file. The full tree, 23 checks, the secret scan across a project and the hook are in the full kit.
- On 2026-11-01 its 2 tests passed on Linux with Python 3.8 to 3.13.
Questions
Does it change my file?
No. It reads and prints findings.
What is in the full kit?
init for the whole tree, 23 checks, a pre-done hook, starter files and 29 tests. $19.
Details
Version 1.0 · Updated Nov 1, 2026 · Markdown version of this page
License: Personal and commercial use. Download terms
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