Introduction to agentrc

agentrc is a universal AI coding assistant configuration manager that provides unified control across Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Zed, and GitHub Copilot.

What is agentrc?

agentrc gives you one place to configure, shape, and control how every AI coding assistant operates in your projects. It provides three core pillars:

Rules

Unified coding standards that automatically sync across all your AI assistants. Write your preferences once, apply them everywhere.

// .agentrc/rules/typescript.yml
export interface RuleConfig {
  name: string
  description: string
  enabled: boolean
  severity: 'error' | 'warning' | 'info'
}
const rule: RuleConfig = {
  name: 'prefer-const',
  description: 'Use const instead of let when possible',
  enabled: true,
  severity: 'warning',
}

Commands

Custom slash commands and specialized subagents that extend your AI assistants with project-specific capabilities.

Commands can be simple shortcuts or complex multi-step workflows that integrate with your development tools.

Guardrails

Semantic command classification enabling capability-based security policies. Know what commands do before they run.

export interface Classification {
  command: string
  capabilities: string[]
  risk: 'safe' | 'moderate' | 'high'
  template: string
}
const gitCheckout: Classification = {
  command: 'git checkout',
  capabilities: ['vcs.switch_branch', 'filesystem.read'],
  risk: 'safe',
  template: 'Switches to branch {branch}',
}
const caps = gitCheckout.capabilities

Quick Start

Install agentrc CLI:

npm install -g @agentrc/cli

Initialize in your project:

agentrc init

This creates a .agentrc/ directory with default configuration:

.agentrc/
├── rules/          # Coding standards
├── commands/       # Custom commands
└── policies/       # Security policies

Architecture

agentrc uses a CLI + Daemon architecture for sub-10ms responses:

CLI — Fast, compiled binary for all user interactions
Daemon — Long-running process that caches classifications
API — Backend service for classification database

The daemon ensures that command lookups are instant, even with thousands of commands in the database.

Next Steps

Installation Guide — Detailed setup instructions
Configuration — Configure your project
CLI Reference — Complete command reference
API Documentation — REST API for integrations

Privacy by Design

agentrc uses two-phase templating: the backend generates templates, but your CLI fills in the values. Command arguments never leave your machine.

// Backend generates template
const template = 'Removes files matching {pattern}'

// CLI fills in values locally
const explanation = template.replace('{pattern}', '*.log')
// No network request with sensitive data

This ensures your command arguments, file paths, and project details remain private.