[BUG] Claude Code does not read AGENTS.md at conversation start

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Claude Code does not automatically read AGENTS.md at the start of a conversation, even though it's a standard file designed to provide repository-level instructions to agents.

AGENTS.md is ignored unless the user explicitly asks Claude to read it, leading to repeated violations of documented rules (commit format, testing policy, git behavior) across conversations.

What Should Happen?

When a repo contains AGENTS.md, Claude should read it before doing any work.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Create an AGENTS.md in the repo root with some instructions about suggesting a commit message, such as "Make it concise and one sentence only, include all uncommitted changes, follow historical commit message pattern", Then make some changes and ask Claude to suggest a commit message, and it will not do what's in AGENTS.md unless explicitly told to look at it.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.37 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Additional Information

_No response_