Agent Guide
How to implement OpenContext in your AI agents.
System Prompt Instructions
Add these instructions to your agent's system prompt to enable OpenContext usage:
system prompt
Always use read_context before making code changes.
First list available topics, then read any topic
relevant to the task.
Use save_context whenever you learn a durable
project rule, architectural decision, convention,
API contract, or debugging note that future agents
should know.
Prefer small, focused context topics in snake_case
or kebab-case. Keep the content concise, factual,
and written in markdown.Recommended Workflow
1
Analyze & Save Context
Ask an architect agent to analyze the project and save durable decisions with save_context.
2
Read Before Coding
Ask build agents to call read_context before making changes.
3
Update When Learning
Let agents update context when they discover something that should survive the current chat.
4
Review Like Docs
Review .opencontext/ files like normal project documentation.
Common Patterns
Architecture Decisions
Topic: architecture Content: "We use Next.js App Router with server components by default. Client components only when interactions require useState/useEffect."
API Contracts
Topic: api-contracts
Content: "All API routes return { data, error } format.
Use 400 for validation, 401 for auth, 500 for server
errors. Pagination uses cursor-based approach."Coding Rules
Topic: coding_rules Content: "- Use const over let when possible - Prefer early returns over nested ifs - Name booleans with is/has/can prefix - Keep functions under 30 lines"
Pre-built Agents
We provide ready-to-use agent prompts for common workflows: