AgileBuilder vs AGENTS.md / .cursor/rules convention files

What convention files solve

Convention files like AGENTS.md and .cursor/rules are static documents written for AI. Typical uses include:

• Telling AI about coding style and naming habits
• Declaring the tech stack, directory conventions, and commit rules
• Constraining how AI behaves when modifying code

They are lightweight, easy to write, and travel with the repository — a good way to give AI context.

Where convention files stop

Convention files are passive by nature:

• They describe rules but do not execute them; the project structure still has to be built by people or other tools
• They live inside an existing repository, so they do not exist yet at the moment a new project starts
• Keeping them consistent across many repos means copying and maintaining them one by one

AgileBuilder solves a different layer

AgileBuilder governs the project skeleton and initialization flow:

• Templates are executable: EJS variable rendering, directory and file skeletons, and post-generation hooks are all defined in the template
• Templates are versioned and distributable: a team maintains one baseline and every project starts from it
• With cloud spaces and permissions, teams control who can use and update which templates
• Through the built-in MCP server, AI IDEs can create projects from templates directly

They complement each other

This is not an either-or choice. A common combination looks like this:

1. Use AgileBuilder to generate the project skeleton from a team template and finish initialization
2. Ship an AGENTS.md or .cursor/rules file inside the template as part of the generated result
3. AI reads the convention file during later coding and keeps following team rules

Convention files help AI "write it right"; AgileBuilder helps the project "start right". Put the convention file inside the template, and both layers of standards land together.