Defame1297
eada85db99
field-inventory.md's apm-agent-allowlist and validate.sh's runtime check already included source_keys as a 4th allowed field, and the apm-agent.md template already instructed authors to add it for provenance tracking — but SKILL.md (x2), README.md, ADR-0016, and deployment-modes.md still described the allowlist as name/description/ model, "nothing else". The template itself even contradicted its own source_keys guidance with a header claiming "ONLY the three fields below — full stop" directly above it. Updates all six locations to document source_keys as the intentional 4th field, resolving the contradiction.
3.7 KiB
source_keys
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Agent Deployment Modes
Agent definitions deploy at three scopes and behave differently at each. The scope determines which fields are honoured, where files must live, and what identifiers users invoke.
Scope hierarchy and precedence
| Scope | Claude Code path | Copilot CLI path | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|---|
| User | ~/.claude/agents/ |
~/.copilot/agents/ |
All sessions for this user |
| Project | .claude/agents/ |
.github/agents/ or .copilot/agents/ |
This repo only |
| Plugin/APM | <package-root>/.apm/agents/<name>.agent.md — single vendor-neutral file, apm compile emits it to both targets |
(same file) | Sessions with the plugin/package installed |
When the same agent name appears at multiple scopes, user scope wins over project scope wins over plugin scope in Claude Code. In Copilot CLI, repo-level agents override enterprise and org-level; home-directory (user) agents override repo-level on name collision.
Plugin scope restrictions
Plugin/APM agents (.apm/agents/<name>.agent.md) carry only name, description, optionally model, and optionally source_keys (provenance metadata, not a runtime field — silently ignored by both harnesses) in frontmatter — full stop (see ADR-0016). apm compile copies this frontmatter verbatim to both the Claude Code and Copilot CLI compile targets with no per-target integrator: Claude's tools: (space-separated string) and Copilot's tools: (alias list) are incompatible vocabularies, and Claude-only fields have no Copilot equivalent, so any harness-specific value is guaranteed wrong on at least one target.
This makes the old "silently ignored at plugin scope" framing moot. It's not that hooks, mcpServers, permissionMode, tools, isolation, maxTurns, effort, memory, disallowedTools, skills, color, initialPrompt, or background are merely ignored at this scope — they are never written to the file at all. Copy the agent to .claude/agents/ (project scope) or ~/.claude/agents/ (user scope) to use any of them.
Scoped identifiers (Claude Code plugin agents only)
Plugin agents in subdirectories get compound identifiers:
plugins/my-plugin/agents/review/security.md → my-plugin:review:security
Users must invoke with @agent-my-plugin:review:security. Keep agents flat in agents/ to avoid this — subdirectory nesting is rarely worth the UX cost.
At project and user scope, subdirectory path does not affect the agent's name.
Cache isolation
When a plugin is installed, its directory is copied to a cache. Any path that leaves the agent's plugin directory breaks post-install. Agent definition files must be self-contained — they cannot reference scripts, templates, or shared files outside the plugin.
Agents at project or user scope are read directly from disk; cache isolation does not apply.
Copilot CLI path conventions
| Scope | Expected path | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| User | ~/.copilot/agents/<name>.agent.md |
Home directory |
| Project | .github/agents/<name>.agent.md |
Standard; also .copilot/agents/ |
| Plugin/APM | <package-root>/.apm/agents/<name>.agent.md |
Not a Copilot-only file — this is the single vendor-neutral source apm compile reads for the Copilot CLI target |
The .agent.md extension is mandatory for real Copilot CLI files (project/user scope) — Copilot CLI does not pick up plain .md files in the agents/ directory. The plugin/APM source file also uses .agent.md by convention, since it compiles to Copilot CLI too, but it is not itself a Copilot file.