ARDS v3.0 Specification

The open standard for agent-ready project documentation

One format. Every AI coding agent. Define your project context once — all major AI coding agents understand it automatically.

5 AI tools. 5 config formats. 0 standards.

Every AI coding agent invented its own way to read project context. Your team maintains duplicate files that drift out of sync.

Before

Claude CodeCLAUDE.md
Codex CLIAGENTS.md
Cursor.cursorrules
GitHub Copilot.github/copilot-instructions.md
Windsurf.windsurfrules
replaced by

After

SurfContextCONTEXT.md + .context/ + surfcontext.json

How it works

Three files. Universal compatibility. Zero lock-in.

  1. 1

    Write your context5 min

    Create `CONTEXT.md` and a `.context/` directory with your agent definitions and knowledge docs.

  2. 2

    Target platforms2 min

    Add `surfcontext.json` to declare which AI platforms to generate config files for.

  3. 3

    AI auto-discovers0 min

    Open your project in any supported AI tool. It reads your context automatically — no copy-paste, no per-tool config.

Platform compatibility

SurfContext generates the right config file for each platform from a single source of truth.

Generated FileStatus
CLAUDE.md
AGENTS.md
.cursorrules
.github/copilot-instructions.md
.windsurfrules

Ready to standardize your AI context?

Get started in under 5 minutes. No dependencies, no build step, no lock-in.

Get Started Read the Full Spec