Major revision based on first principles thinking: - Simplified format: plain Markdown, human readable - Focus on capabilities (Can/Cannot) not API schemas - MCP gateway pointer for structured tool access - Clear positioning vs robots.txt and llms.txt The agents.md file is the handshake. The MCP gateway is where real work happens. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
1.6 KiB
1.6 KiB
agents.md
Tell AI agents what they can do on your website.
The Gap
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| robots.txt | What bots cannot access |
| llms.txt | What content matters |
| agents.md | What agents can do |
Quick Start
Create /.well-known/agents.md:
# My Site
An online bookstore.
## Can
- Search catalog
- Read book details
- Check availability
## Cannot
- Place orders (requires human)
## Contact
hello@mysite.com
That's it. Plain text. Human readable.
With MCP Gateway
Point agents to your MCP server for structured tool access:
# My Site
An online bookstore.
## Can
- Search and browse
- Check prices
- Place orders (authenticated)
## MCP
endpoint: https://mysite.com/.well-known/mcp
transport: streamable-http
auth: oauth2
## Contact
hello@mysite.com
How It Works
Agent requests /.well-known/agents.md
│
├─► Basic: reads text, understands capabilities
│
└─► Advanced: connects to MCP gateway for tools
Documentation
- Specification - Full protocol spec
- Examples - Real-world examples
- FAQ - Common questions
Status
Draft - Version 0.2.0
Related Standards
- robots.txt - Crawl restrictions (1994)
- llms.txt - Content for LLMs (2024)
- AGENTS.md - Repository instructions (2025)
- MCP - Tool protocol (2024)
License
CC0 1.0 Universal - Public Domain