{"version":"2.1.277","anchor":"agentsmd-claudemd-instruction-loading-modes-formalized-w","canonical_anchor":"claudemdagentsmd-loading-mode-options-renamed-and-expande","heading":"AGENTS.md\/CLAUDE.md instruction loading revamped: instructionFiles setting, new modes, plugin file stats","tier":"use","area":"CLAUDE.md Rules","scope":null,"heads_up":null,"url":"https:\/\/changelogs.core-directive.com\/v\/2.1.277\/e\/agentsmd-claudemd-instruction-loading-modes-formalized-w","release_url":"https:\/\/changelogs.core-directive.com\/v\/2.1.277","markdown":"### AGENTS.md\/CLAUDE.md instruction loading revamped: instructionFiles setting, new modes, plugin file stats\n\nInstruction-file loading was renamed to instructionFiles, gained new modes with AGENTS.md fallback as default, and now reports plugin instruction stats\n\n**What**\n\n- The setting is renamed from `projectInstructions` to `instructionFiles`; the old name still works as a deprecated alias but logs a one-time warning telling you to migrate.\n\n- The recognized modes changed from `claude`, `agents-fallback`, `both`, `none` to `claude-md`, `claude-md-or-agents-md`, `claude-md-and-agents-md`, `managed-only`.\n\n- The default mode is now `claude-md-or-agents-md`, so a project with no CLAUDE.md of its own now automatically gets its AGENTS.md files loaded instead, without needing to turn anything on.\n\n- New telemetry events (`agents_md_load`, `agents_md_nested`) record file count, import count, total content length, and whether the file walk succeeded or failed, tagged by the resolved mode.\n\n- Project context-loading results now always include a `pluginInstructionFiles` field (with `fileCount` and `totalContentLength`) alongside the existing `claudeMd`, `instructionFiles`, and `memoryFiles` fields.\n\n**Why**\n\nThis clarifies and simplifies how Claude Code decides which project instruction files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md) to load, makes AGENTS.md usable out of the box for projects that don't have their own CLAUDE.md, and gives better visibility into which instruction files, including ones contributed by plugins, actually got loaded.\n\n- Area: CLAUDE.md Rules\n- Names: `AGENTS.md`, `CLAUDE.md`\n- Tier: Use it now\n- Useful: 4\/5\n- Signal: 4\/5"}