Every agent, one source

compass keeps one operating manual — claude/CLAUDE.md — and AGENTS.md is a symlink to it. AGENTS.md is the open, cross-tool standard for agent instructions, now governed by the Linux Foundation's Agentic AI Foundation (alongside MCP). So the same manual already steers most coding agents — not just Claude Code. Edit it once; every agent reads it.

Who consumes it, and how

Agent / IDE	Reads	How compass feeds it
Claude Code	~/.claude/CLAUDE.md	make install (symlink)
Codex	~/.codex/AGENTS.md	make install (symlink → same manual)
Gemini CLI	~/.gemini/GEMINI.md, or AGENTS.md via context.fileName	./install.sh --gemini (symlinks GEMINI.md → the manual)
Cursor	AGENTS.md natively (+ .cursor/rules/)	per-repo AGENTS.md — already there after make new-repo
Windsurf	auto-discovers AGENTS.md → Cascade Rules	per-repo AGENTS.md — no action
GitHub Copilot / Amp / Devin	AGENTS.md natively	per-repo AGENTS.md — no action

The global manual covers operating principles (understand first, stay in scope, verify before "done," cost discipline) that apply to any agent. A few Claude-Code-specific references (/commands, hooks) are harmless context for other tools — the principles are the point.

Gemini CLI — two ways

• Global manual: ./install.sh --gemini symlinks ~/.gemini/GEMINI.md → the same manual.
• Per-repo AGENTS.md: add to ~/.gemini/settings.json so Gemini also reads the repo's AGENTS.md:

  { "context": { "fileName": ["AGENTS.md", "GEMINI.md"] } }
  

  (If both exist in a dir, Gemini CLI prefers GEMINI.md.)

MCP is cross-tool too

MCP is the other Agentic-AI-Foundation standard. compass's single manifest (mcp/servers.json) registers servers in Claude and Codex today; Gemini CLI and Cursor also speak MCP, so the same servers (context7, fetch, git, …) are portable there. → MCP guide

Budget enforcement for non-Claude agents

Claude Code's built-in budget gate works only for sessions that render the status line or write a transcript. compass gate closes the gap: it's a localhost reverse proxy that enforces COMPASS_MAX_USD / COMPASS_MAX_USD_DAY for any agent that speaks the Anthropic or OpenAI API:

compass gate &                           # start the proxy (port 4141)
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:4141
export OPENAI_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:4141
# run Codex, SDK scripts, or any framework here — caps apply

Once the cap is reached, further requests get a 402 before hitting upstream. Cost is tracked in the shared ~/.compass/spend.tsv ledger alongside Claude Code sessions. → full details in cost & models

Why this matters

You don't bet on one vendor. Switch or mix Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Cursor, Windsurf — your team's operating manual, conventions, and guardrail intent travel with you, from one file.

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Sources: agents.md · Gemini CLI — GEMINI.md / context.fileName · Windsurf — AGENTS.md. AGENTS.md + MCP are under the Linux Foundation's Agentic AI Foundation (Dec 2025).