Instructions

Codex reads `AGENTS.md` files before doing any work. By layering global guidance with project-specific overrides, you can start each task with consistent expectations, no matter which repository you open.

Codex reads `AGENTS.override.md` if it exists. Otherwise, Codex reads `AGENTS.md`.

In your Codex home directory (defaults to `~/.codex`, unless you set `CODEX_HOME`), Codex reads `AGENTS.override.md` if it exists. Otherwise, Codex reads `AGENTS.md`. Codex uses only the first non-empty file at this level.

Codex concatenates files from the root down, joining them with blank lines. Files closer to your current directory override earlier guidance because they appear later in the combined prompt.

Starting at the project root (typically the Git root), Codex walks down to your current working directory. If Codex cannot find a project root, it only checks the current directory. In each directory along the path, it checks for `AGENTS.override.md`, then `AGENTS.md`, then any fallback names in `project_doc_fallback_filenames`. Codex includes at most one file per directory.

If your repository already uses a different filename (for example `TEAM_GUIDE.md`), add it to the fallback list so Codex treats it like an instructions file.

Codex skips empty files and stops adding files once the combined size reaches the limit defined by `project_doc_max_bytes` (32 KiB by default)