Choosing a coding agent to use resources with

All of these agents can use a PalateKit resource, but they do not look for their files in the same places. This article covers six agents: what each one reads, and where. It does not rank them. The right choice is mostly the agent you already use.

Three kinds of files

• Skills: a folder with a SKILL.md file. The agent loads it when your request matches.
• Project instructions: a Markdown file at the repository root (AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, GEMINI.md) that the agent reads every session.
• Rules: instructions split across several files, sometimes limited to certain file types.

Skills are the shared format, so they move between agents. Instructions and rules differ more from tool to tool.

Comparison

Five of the six agents read .agents/skills/. Claude Code is the only one that reads just .claude/skills/, so copy the resource there if you use it.

The agents one by one

Claude Code

Skills go in .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md (project) or ~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md (all your sessions). For instructions it reads CLAUDE.md, .claude/rules/ files that can be limited to certain paths, and AGENTS.md when no CLAUDE.md exists. See the Claude Code page.

Codex

It scans .agents/skills/ from the working directory up to the repository root, then ~/.agents/skills/. Each skill must declare a name and a description. For instructions it concatenates the AGENTS.md files from the project root down to the current folder; within one folder, AGENTS.override.md comes before AGENTS.md. See the Codex page.

Cursor

It loads .agents/skills/ and .cursor/skills/, and for compatibility .claude/skills/ and .codex/skills/. Its rules live in .cursor/rules/; the file must use the .mdc extension, since a plain .md file is ignored. It also reads AGENTS.md. See the Cursor page.

GitHub Copilot

Skills work in the Copilot CLI, the cloud agent, code review, and agent mode in VS Code, Visual Studio and JetBrains IDEs (depending on version). Repository instructions go in .github/copilot-instructions.md, in .github/instructions/*.instructions.md files limited by an applyTo pattern, or in AGENTS.md. See the GitHub Copilot page.

Gemini CLI

It reads .gemini/skills/ and the alias .agents/skills/, in the project and in your home folder; when names collide, .agents/skills/ wins. Its instructions file is GEMINI.md. To make it read AGENTS.md, add that name to context.fileName in settings.json. See the Gemini CLI page.

OpenCode

It looks in .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/ and .agents/skills/, from the current folder up to the repository root, then in the matching folders of your home directory. It reads AGENTS.md, and CLAUDE.md only when AGENTS.md does not exist. See the OpenCode page.

How to choose

• You already have an agent: keep it and install resources in its folder.
• You use several: put your skills in .agents/skills/, which most of them read, and add .claude/skills/ for Claude Code.
• You share a repository with a team: commit the project's skills and an AGENTS.md, which nearly all of these agents read.

Installing

The command npx --yes palatekit@latest install <slug> copies the resource into the folder of the agent you name; the install prompt and the ZIP give the same result. Each agent's page lists its folders. For a first try, follow Install your first resource, then browse the skills or the rules.