guarding-agent-directives

To validate changes to CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md files, use a structured five-question verification workflow that checks for recurrence, non-obviousness, novelty, actionability, and project-specificity before applying any edits.

Preventing duplicate or unsafe agent directives requires a review workflow that scans target files for duplicates, contradictions, and superseded items, offering revision options and requiring explicit user confirmation before applying changes.

Directive placement recommendation evaluates proposed content and suggests whether it belongs in the core directive file, a referenced document, or a skill-internal reference, presenting an exact diff for user approval.

You need to review agent directive files when a user requests adding guidance to CLAUDE.md or when an autonomous agent attempts to modify AGENTS.md, ensuring changes are necessary, precise, and safe.

Yes, you can require explicit user confirmation before an agent modifies AGENTS.md by enforcing safety gates that present exact diffs and block changes until manual approval is granted.

Agent directive files accumulate low-value or duplicated instructions when additions lack a verification workflow enforcing conciseness, actionability, and project-relevance checks before content is committed.