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Add agent guidance to avoid placing new files at repo root#1735

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nathanjmcdougall merged 4 commits intomainfrom
copilot/avoid-adding-to-root-dir
Apr 1, 2026
Merged

Add agent guidance to avoid placing new files at repo root#1735
nathanjmcdougall merged 4 commits intomainfrom
copilot/avoid-adding-to-root-dir

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Copilot AI commented Apr 1, 2026

In #1730, an agent placed a template file at the repository root instead of a more appropriate subdirectory. The root is publicly facing and accumulates clutter quickly.

  • Added a bullet to "Generally Important Instructions" in AGENTS.md directing agents to prefer subdirectories (docs/, hooks/, .agents/skills/, etc.) over the root for new files

Add a new bullet point to the "Generally Important Instructions" section
of AGENTS.md instructing agents to avoid adding new files to the
repository root directory. The root is publicly facing and should be
kept clean. Agents should prefer appropriate subdirectories such as
docs/, hooks/, or .agents/skills/.

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/usethis-python/usethis-python/sessions/26a37c89-2c95-4bd0-b8df-6eb151483adb

Co-authored-by: nathanjmcdougall <18602289+nathanjmcdougall@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Update agent config to avoid adding files to root directory Add agent guidance to avoid placing new files at repo root Apr 1, 2026
Copilot AI requested a review from nathanjmcdougall April 1, 2026 12:58
Comment thread AGENTS.md Outdated
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Copilot AI commented Apr 1, 2026

@nathanjmcdougall I've opened a new pull request, #1738, to work on those changes. Once the pull request is ready, I'll request review from you.

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits April 2, 2026 08:02
…ll (#1738)

* Initial plan

* Create usethis-file-placement skill and remove AVOID bullet from AGENTS.md

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/usethis-python/usethis-python/sessions/448e6c0f-2039-4f7a-ba44-a53fde4696c0

Co-authored-by: nathanjmcdougall <18602289+nathanjmcdougall@users.noreply.github.com>

* Rename skill usethis-file-placement to usethis-file-create

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/usethis-python/usethis-python/sessions/3476d70b-21ed-49ae-b5da-57dd38b67d61

Co-authored-by: nathanjmcdougall <18602289+nathanjmcdougall@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: nathanjmcdougall <18602289+nathanjmcdougall@users.noreply.github.com>
@nathanjmcdougall nathanjmcdougall marked this pull request as ready for review April 1, 2026 19:03
@nathanjmcdougall nathanjmcdougall merged commit c8c2a0d into main Apr 1, 2026
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@nathanjmcdougall nathanjmcdougall deleted the copilot/avoid-adding-to-root-dir branch April 1, 2026 19:05
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Agent config to avoid adding to the root dir of the repo

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