Agents

LLM-powered coding and shell assistants that use tools to help with development tasks.

Context Files

Agents use standardized context file paths for providing additional context and rules:

See specification of AGENT.md files.

• ~/.config/AGENT.md - Global (user) agent context file
• AGENT.md - Local (project) agent configuration

Amp

Amp is an LLM coding agent with built-in support for context files.

Configuration

• Settings: ~/.config/amp/settings.json
• Context Support: Built-in support for AGENT.md files and @ file prefix syntax to read other files

Context File Usage

Amp reads context through:

1. Local AGENT.md file in project root
2. Global ~/.config/AGENT.md file
3. Subdir AGENT.md files in path of files referenced in thread.
4. Referenced files using @ syntax.

Reference: Amp Manual - AGENT.md

Amazon Q Developer

Amazon Q Developer is AWS's LLM coding agent with CLI interface.

Configuration

• Global Context: ~/.aws/amazonq/global_context.json - defines the standardized context file paths.
• Rules Directory: ~/.aws/amazonq/rules/
• Profiles: ~/.aws/amazonq/profiles/
• MCP Config: ~/.aws/amazonq/mcp.json

Context Files

Besides the shared context files, Amazon Q automatically includes context from:

1. Amazon Q specific rules (~/.aws/amazonq/rules/**/*.md)
2. Project-specific files (.amazonq/rules/**/*.md)
3. Project documentation (README.md)

Comparison

Feature	Amp	Amazon Q Developer
Context Files	@ syntax references	JSON path configuration
Command Restrictions	Allowlist-based	Security-focused
MCP Support	Yes	Yes
Context Scope	Global, subtree and project	Global and project

Both agents follow the standardized context file structure, making it easy to share rules and configuration between them while maintaining agent-specific optimizations.