AGENTS.md for Flutter: How to Guide AI Coding Agents With Project Rules
An AGENTS.md file acts as the project constitution for AI coding tools like Antigravity, Claude Code, and Cursor. It defines state management conventions, architecture constraints, forbidden packages, and testing rules so generated Flutter code matches production standards on the first attempt.
- Place AGENTS.md at workspace root to enforce architectural boundaries on all AI tools.
- Specify project folder conventions, state management libraries, and test patterns.
- List forbidden packages and deprecated Flutter APIs to prevent hallucinations.
If you use agentic AI tools like Google Antigravity, Claude Code, or Cursor, there is one critical file that can double the quality of generated Flutter code: AGENTS.md.
Placed in the root of your project, AGENTS.md acts as a standing instruction set that AI agents read at the beginning of every session. It provides project context, architectural guidelines, directory structures, and code style rules before any code is generated.
Why Every Flutter Project Needs AGENTS.md
Without an AGENTS.md file, AI agents make arbitrary assumptions—such as choosing GetX when your team uses Riverpod, or inline hardcoding styles instead of using your design system. AGENTS.md enforces your project's exact standards automatically.
Example AGENTS.md Template for Flutter
# Project Coding Standards & Guidelines
## Architecture & Design Patterns
- Architecture: Feature-first Clean MVVM (Data, Domain, Presentation).
- State Management: Riverpod (Notifier & AsyncNotifier).
- Caching: Hive for local key-value storage.
## UI & Design System
- Theme: Dark obsidian palette using ThemeData tokens.
- Widgets: Always use const constructors where possible.
- Avoid rebuilding entire screens; scope rebuilds with Consumer widgets.
## Verification Rules
- Always run `flutter test` after modifying state or repository classes.
- Ensure all controllers and stream subscriptions are disposed of.
Key Sections to Include
- Architecture Rules: Define layer boundaries and state management libraries.
- Forbidden Practices: Explicitly ban antipatterns like mutating global variables or calling APIs directly inside build methods.
- Testing Expectations: Direct the agent to write unit tests for new ViewModels and run test commands automatically.
4+ years of mobile engineering experience architecting scalable Flutter apps, eliminating performance bottlenecks, and deploying AI-assisted workflows (Claude, Antigravity, MCP).