rename claude.md to agents.md for agents and the repo

Claude Code (>= 2.1.277) and opencode both read AGENTS.md, but Claude
Code reads it only when no CLAUDE.md exists in its cwd or above. So
this is a plain rename with no CLAUDE.md stub left behind.

- hive-agent/src/agents_md_migrate.rs: new. At harness start, before
  the first turn, renames state/CLAUDE.md to state/AGENTS.md when only
  the former exists; logs an error naming both paths when both exist
  and touches neither; does nothing otherwise. Idempotent.
- hive-agent/src/main.rs: calls it in serve_main; checkpoint prompt
  and a comment name AGENTS.md.
- hive-agent/src/claude_md_watch.rs: the size watch reads AGENTS.md;
  todo text, doc comments and tests follow. Module name, todo
  subsystem key ("claude_md") and metric name
  (hyperhive.agent.claude_md.lines) are unchanged so existing todo
  rows and dashboard history carry over.
- hive-agent/src/turn.rs, hive-agent/prompts/system.md: prompts tell
  the agent its file is AGENTS.md.
- hive-agent/src/{otel_turn_metrics,stats}.rs,
  frontend/packages/agent/src/stats.js, hive-subagent-mcp/src/*.rs:
  comments and a tool parameter description naming the agent's file.
- nix/host-modules/swarm-grafana/dashboards/agents.json: panel title
  and description.
- claude-plugins skills claude-subagents, state-hygiene: they mean the
  agent's own state file.
- CLAUDE.md -> AGENTS.md at the repo root; docs/crates/README.md link
  (checked by check-doc-refs.sh), hive-c0re/README.md,
  .prettierignore and the nix/sources.nix comment follow.
- docs/: every prose mention of the agent's file; persistence.md
  documents the boot-time rename, claude-invocation.md the shadowing.

Fixes #5509

.prettierignore

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ docs/tools/swarm-metrics-cli.md
 # prettier's `proseWrap: "preserve"` prevents prose reflow but not list-item
 # indentation normalisation, so these files need manual re-wrap before
 # adding them back to the formatter scope.
-CLAUDE.md
+AGENTS.md
 docs/agent-lifecycle/config-changes.md
 docs/process/conventions.md
 docs/networking/gateway.md

AGENTS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,219 @@
+# hyperhive — claude entry point
+
+Hey claude. This is your starting page. The detailed docs live in
+[`docs/`](docs/) and are written for humans + you both — read them
+when you need depth on a subsystem. This file is the index.
+
+- High-level project intro: **[README.md](README.md)**.
+- Open work + backlog: the forge issue tracker at
+  **`$HIVE_FORGE_URL/hyperhive/hyperhive/issues`**. Read the host out of
+  the env var — inside an agent container `localhost` is the *agent*, not
+  the forge, so a hardcoded loopback address fails to connect.
+- Operator/agent trust-boundary design:
+  **[docs/trust-boundary/boundary.md](docs/trust-boundary/boundary.md)** (`area/ops` issues
+  for the deployment/gateway/privsep work — the separator is a **slash**,
+  and `--label area:ops` now fails with `did you mean "area/ops"?`).
+- Agent trust model (trust boundary, prompt-injection threat model,
+  capability = accepted risk), credential isolation + sandbox threat model:
+  **[docs/trust-boundary/security.md](docs/trust-boundary/security.md)**.
+- Odd-looking nspawn / container plumbing usually has a story:
+  **[docs/process/gotchas.md](docs/process/gotchas.md)**.
+
+## Build & check
+
+Always through the devshell — a bare `cargo` fails (`failed to find tool
+"cc"`, `cannot find -lsqlite3`). Details:
+[`docs/process/conventions.md`](docs/process/conventions.md#building--local-checks).
+
+```sh
+nix develop -c cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings
+nix develop -c cargo test
+nix fmt        # treefmt is the CI gate, NOT bare cargo fmt
+```
+
+Changed a `hivectl` / `swarmctl` verb or flag? Regenerate its doc — only
+CI's `nix flake check` catches the drift:
+`nix develop -c cargo run --bin hivectl -- markdown-docs > docs/tools/hivectl-cli.md`
+(same for `swarmctl` → `docs/tools/swarmctl-cli.md`). CI red but local
+green → build the suspect check (e.g. `nix build
+.#checks.x86_64-linux.hivectl-docs`) before blaming the builder.
+
+## Repo map
+
+One line per crate / top-level dir. **Each module's authoritative,
+always-current description lives in its own `//!` doc-comment** —
+`grep`/read the module when you need detail. This index is kept
+deliberately lean: it auto-loads into every turn's context, and a
+hand-maintained per-file tree drifts out of sync with the code.
+
+### Rust workspace (`Cargo.toml` members)
+
+Per-hive (host + in-container):
+
+- **`hive-c0re/`** — host daemon (runs as the unprivileged `hive-core`
+  user), **daemon-only** — the operator CLI is `hivectl`. Owns the sqlite
+  broker, reminder queue, meta flake, lifecycle (`nixos-container`
+  shellouts), gateway wiring, per-container stats and the axum operator
+  dashboard. Agent forge/matrix accounts are `swarm-controller`'s. Largest
+  crate.
+- **`hivectl/`** — operator CLI; talks to `hive-c0re` over the host admin
+  socket, does NOT link it. Verb reference (CI-enforced):
+  [`docs/tools/hivectl-cli.md`](docs/tools/hivectl-cli.md).
+- **`hive-priv/`** — minimal root helper, socket-activated at
+  `/run/hive/priv.sock`; the few root ops (bind-mount edits, nsenter)
+  `hive-c0re` delegates. See `docs/trust-boundary/boundary.md`.
+- **`hive-agent/`** — the in-container serve loop: turn-loop *policy*
+  (`turn.rs`) over `hive-runtime`, per-agent web UI, event + turn-stats
+  sinks, system-prompt renderer, claude launch config (`mcp_config.rs`).
+  With `hive-agent-mcp` it's what "hive-ag3nt" refers to — there is no
+  such directory.
+- **`hive-agent-mcp/`** — the embedded MCP server (`hive-mcp-http` unit).
+- **`hive-runtime/`** — the `Runtime` interface an agent's turns run on:
+  a `claude` backend (over `hive-claude`) and an `acp` backend whose stream
+  is translated into claude's `stream-json` shape. Links no hyperhive
+  binary crate, so the subagent daemon uses it too.
+- **`hive-bash-mcp/`**, **`hive-matrix-mcp/`**, **`hive-subagent-mcp/`** —
+  per-agent MCP daemons serving streamable-http directly (no stdio
+  bridge): background bash tasks, matrix-sdk tools, nested subagent
+  sessions (optionally goal-driven over several turns; daemon state is
+  in-memory, the claude session survives a restart).
+- **`hive-screen-mcp/`** — stdio MCP bridge for GUI agents: screenshot,
+  keyboard, mouse. All userspace.
+- **`hive-forge/`** — `hive-forge` Forgejo CLI; one module per verb.
+- **`hive-forge-notify/`** — notification pollers → todos on the in-agent
+  socket. Two binaries: `hive-forge-notify`, `hive-github-notify`.
+- **`hive-jobq/`** — the job-DAG scheduler library. **Runtime-only —
+  nothing writes the graph to disk**, so node ids are stable within a run,
+  not across restarts. `hive-c0re`'s `job_queue/` is being removed in its
+  favour — new scheduler-shaped code goes here.
+- **`hive-jobq-wire/`** — presentation of a `hive-jobq` graph to viewers
+  (`WireNode` / `WireResource`); kept out of `hive-jobq` on purpose.
+- **`hive-jobq-metrics/`** — OTEL export of a graph's state rollup on a
+  timer.
+- **`hive-log/`** — the one log-sink chooser: journald *or* stdout, never
+  both (under a unit, stdout already is the journal). Do not grow it into a
+  utility crate.
+- **`hive-metric/`** — one-shot CLI pushing a labeled metric over OTLP.
+
+Wire types + socket plumbing:
+
+- **`hive-types/`** — leaf newtypes, chiefly the validated `Ident`.
+- **`hive-sh4re/`** — shared payload types (`Message`, `HelperEvent`, …).
+- **`hive-host-sock/`** (hivectl ↔ c0re), **`hive-priv-sock/`** (c0re ↔
+  priv), **`hive-core-agent-sock/`** (harness ↔ c0re, `/run/hive/mcp.sock`)
+  — per-socket wire types, split out so each client links only its protocol.
+- **`hive-agent-sock/`** — the *in-agent* socket the harness serves to
+  in-container producers (todos, reminders); also holds the `extra_mcp`
+  spec. ⚠️ **This socket never leaves the container** — `hive-c0re` is not
+  in the path, unlike `hive-core-agent-sock`.
+- **`hive-sock-client/`** — the shared JSON-line unix-socket client; retry
+  is a policy value (`Retry::None` / `Retry::RideOutRestart`). Also holds
+  the bounded request-line reader (`read_request_line`) the socket servers
+  use.
+
+Swarm-level:
+
+- **`swarm-controller/`** — owns what is true **across** hives; opt-in,
+  one per swarm. Serves HTTP over a unix socket nginx proxies to — ⚠️
+  **the socket's directory is its access control**; the crate README has
+  the constraint and a unit test pins the path.
+- **`swarm-controller-api/`** — serde-only request and response bodies of
+  the controller's HTTP API, shared with `swarmctl` (forge, schedules and
+  the agent-create and forge-token responses).
+- **`swarmctl/`** — swarm operator CLI; runs as **root and acts directly**
+  (README says why). Doesn't link `swarm-controller`: the forge and
+  schedule bodies and the agent responses come from
+  `swarm-controller-api`; the agent-create request, inference and
+  permissions ones are a local mirror. ⚠️ Edits authelia's
+  **`users.yml` in place**, shared with `swarm-authelia-bridge`; that
+  crate's README says what both writers must uphold. Verb reference
+  (CI-enforced):
+  [`docs/tools/swarmctl-cli.md`](docs/tools/swarmctl-cli.md).
+- **`swarm-authelia-bridge/`** (+ **`swarm-authelia-bridge-sock/`** wire
+  types) — the other writer of authelia's users DB; runs inside
+  `swarm-authelia`.
+- **`swarm-secret-client/`** — OpenBao client over `vaultrs`. ⚠️ Reads
+  the **`BAO_`** env spellings explicitly — `vaultrs`'s `VAULT_*` defaults
+  are set by no unit here, and falling through to them yields a client
+  with **no identity** and a TLS failure that names no cause.
+- **`swarm-queue-client/`** — the one authenticated connect to the swarm
+  NATS queue.
+- **`swarm-nats-auth/`** — NATS auth-callout responder; without it the
+  queue is fail-closed and admits nobody.
+- **`swarm-agent-verify/`** — checks a `swarm-agent.<agent>.<secret>`
+  token against the store; shared by `swarm-nats-auth` and
+  `swarm-logs-auth`.
+- **`swarm-logs-auth/`** — nginx `auth_request` responder for agent access
+  to the log store, and to the metrics store as `swarm-metrics-agent-auth`.
+- **`swarm-metrics-auth/`** — nginx `auth_request` responder for Grafana's
+  bearer on the metrics store's query API.
+- **`swarm-logs/`** — agent CLI: a LogsQL query in, log lines out.
+- **`swarm-metrics/`** — agent CLI: a MetricsQL query in, the store's JSON out.
+- **`swarm-matrix-client/`** — appservice calls against the swarm
+  homeserver, shared by `swarm-controller` and `swarm-matrix-ctl`.
+- **`swarm-matrix-ctl/`** — the one binary run inside
+  `containers.hive-matrix`; new in-container jobs are verbs here, not
+  crates.
+- **`swarm-builder/`** — builds agent config PR heads for commit status,
+  and evaluates the agent archetypes the create form lists.
+  Design: [`docs/swarm/builder.md`](docs/swarm/builder.md).
+- **`swarm-ci-metrics/`** — polls the forge's Actions runs and pushes each
+  finished run's duration and queue wait to the metrics store. Design:
+  [`docs/swarm/ci-metrics.md`](docs/swarm/ci-metrics.md).
+- **`swarm-claude-login/`** — runs `claude auth login` for one agent and
+  stores the credentials at `swarm/agents/<agent>/claude-credentials`.
+  Design: [`docs/swarm/claude-login.md`](docs/swarm/claude-login.md).
+- **`swarm-review-classifier/`** — one `claude --print` per PR
+  classification, no tools, no forge credential. Design:
+  [`docs/swarm/review-classifier.md`](docs/swarm/review-classifier.md).
+
+### External dependencies with no directory here
+
+- **`hive-claude`** — app-agnostic driver for headless `claude --print`
+  (stream-json, `Telemetry`, the self-compacting `InfiniteSession`).
+  ⚠️ **Its own repo, not a workspace member** — there is no
+  `hive-claude/` directory and `grep` here will not find it.
+
+### Other top-level dirs
+
+- **`frontend/`** — npm workspaces built hermetically by
+  `nix/packages/frontend.nix`: `shared`, `dashboard` (operator SPA),
+  `agent` (per-container UI), `swarm-ui` (Preact; packaged separately by
+  `nix/packages/swarm-ui.nix`, not in `packages.default`'s closure).
+- **`nix/`** — `host-modules/` (the host stack), `agent-modules/`
+  (per-agent harness features), `container-modules/` (guest side of
+  service containers), `templates/agent.nix` (the container entry
+  point), `archetypes/` (the built-in agent archetypes), `packages/`,
+  `docs/` (options doc), `module-eval/` (NixOS
+  module-eval tests), `builder/` (`check-flake`), `script-tests/`, plus
+  `sources.nix` / `rust.nix` / `checks.nix` / `devshell.nix` /
+  `treefmt.nix` behind the thin `flake.nix`.
+- **`docs/`** — subsystem reference docs (see *Reading paths* below).
+- **`branding/`**, **`scripts/`** — static assets + helper scripts.
+
+## Reading paths
+
+**[`docs/README.md`](docs/README.md) is the single index**, grouped by
+topic. Don't add a second copy of it here — a parallel list used to live
+in this file and drifted.
+
+## Conventions & process
+
+- **Never add `#[allow(clippy::…)]`** — fix the lint instead (extract a
+  helper, add backticks, etc.). Worked examples:
+  [`docs/process/conventions.md`](docs/process/conventions.md#building--local-checks).
+- **Pre-push lint hook** (catches tracker-tag and comment-block failures
+  before CI does — install once per clone):
+  `ln -sf ../../scripts/pre-push .git/hooks/pre-push`
+- **Comment/PR-description length**: size it to how non-obvious the
+  thing is, not to how much investigation it took to find it — a
+  mechanical fix gets a one-line comment, a genuinely non-obvious
+  invariant or decision earns real prose. Don't restate a module's `//!`
+  doc in a comment further down the same file.
+- **Operator-facing doc with real implementation detail mixed in**: wrap
+  the implementation part in a `<details><summary>…</summary>` block
+  (blank line after `<summary>` so the markdown inside renders) rather
+  than a sibling page — see `docs/integrations/github.md`'s
+  "Implementation" section. It only collapses in a rendered browser, and
+  the `<summary>` line isn't markdown-processed, so keep it plain prose
+  with no backticks.

claude-plugins/plugins/base/skills/claude-subagents/SKILL.md

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ actually attached, so a `continue` naming a session that isn't there
 fails the tool call outright instead of looking like it worked; the error
 says which directory it searched, which is usually the fix (pass `dir`).
 `dir` defaults to your work dir, `/agents/<you>/work`, which has no
-`CLAUDE.md` above it, so a subagent started there does not load yours
+`AGENTS.md` above it, so a subagent started there does not load yours
 (until that directory exists, the daemon's cwd is used).
 Use `status` for a
 zero-cost "is it still going" check — for a running subagent it also

claude-plugins/plugins/base/skills/state-hygiene/SKILL.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ description: Enforces safe handling of an agent's own durable state/notes files
 
 # State Hygiene
 
-Durable notes/state files (your `CLAUDE.md`, `state/notes.md`, `state/TODO.md`,
+Durable notes/state files (your `AGENTS.md`, `state/notes.md`, `state/TODO.md`,
 and anything else under `state/`) are your memory across container resets and
 context compactions. They only work if you actually read them before you
 change them - writing blind is how history gets silently destroyed or

docs/agent-lifecycle/config-changes.md

@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ The system prompt (`hive-agent/prompts/system.md`, rendered by
 varies is which MCP tools it surfaces (gated by the agent's permissions,
 which the swarm sets). No `role:manager` block renders only
 for the root agent. The root agent's role-specific
-behaviour comes from its CLAUDE.md / agent-specific instructions, not
+behaviour comes from its AGENTS.md / agent-specific instructions, not
 the system prompt template.
 
 ## Helper events

docs/agent-lifecycle/persistence.md

@@ -270,6 +270,13 @@ Under `/var/lib/hyperhive/agents/<name>/`:
   - `hyperhive-harness.json` — rate-limited / needs-login flags read
     by the dashboard's async container-state fetch. See
     `docs/web-ui/dashboard.md::Container row`.
+
+  The agent writes its own instructions to `AGENTS.md` here; claude and
+  opencode load it automatically from their cwd, `state/`. At boot,
+  `agents_md_migrate::run` renames a `state/CLAUDE.md` to `AGENTS.md`
+  when no `AGENTS.md` exists. When both exist it renames neither and
+  logs an error naming both paths: claude loads only `CLAUDE.md` while
+  one exists in its cwd or above.
 - `harness/` — harness-internal ephemeral state; not intended for
   agent consumption. Bind-mounted to `/agents/<name>/harness`
   inside the container (`$HYPERHIVE_HARNESS_DIR`). Contents:
@@ -321,7 +328,7 @@ Under `/var/lib/hyperhive/agents/<name>/`:
   and other large working data. Bind-mounted RW to
   `/agents/<name>/work` inside the container and owned by the agent
   user. It sits outside `state/` so a claude or subagent started under
-  `work/` doesn't walk up into `state/CLAUDE.md` and load the agent's
+  `work/` doesn't walk up into `state/AGENTS.md` and load the agent's
   own identity. Survives `destroy`/recreate, gone on `--purge`. Counted
   in the per-agent disk metric (`measure_agent_disk`) together with
   `state/` and the container rootfs. The dashboard doesn't serve it:

docs/crates/README.md

@@ -9,5 +9,5 @@ drift out of sync the way a hand-copied mirror would — edit the crate's
 own README to change what shows up here.
 
 For the one-line-per-crate index (which crate does what, at a glance)
-see the main [`CLAUDE.md`](../../CLAUDE.md#repo-map) repo map instead;
+see the main [`AGENTS.md`](../../AGENTS.md#repo-map) repo map instead;
 this section is each crate's own, longer word on itself.

docs/process/gotchas.md

@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ alongside the claude dir.
 `/var/lib/hyperhive/agents/<name>/work/` bind-mounts to
 `/agents/<name>/work` (RW, owned by the agent user). It's the place for
 git worktrees and build dirs: a claude started under `state/` walks up
-into `state/CLAUDE.md` and takes on the agent's identity, and one
+into `state/AGENTS.md` and takes on the agent's identity, and one
 started under `work/` doesn't. `/home/<name>` lives in the container
 rootfs, which `destroy` deletes; `work/` survives `destroy`/recreate
 and goes on `--purge`. The per-agent disk metric counts it; the

docs/scheduler/observability.md

@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ of their own — see [ACP-reported cost](#acp-reported-cost).
 | `hyperhive.agent.session.count`          | —         | counter   | `model` (incremented once per fresh, non-`--continue`'d session)                                                   |
 | `hyperhive.agent.loose_ends.threads`     | —         | gauge     | none                                                                                                               |
 | `hyperhive.agent.loose_ends.reminders`   | —         | gauge     | none                                                                                                               |
-| `hyperhive.agent.claude_md.lines`        | —         | gauge     | none — recorded from the `CLAUDE.md`-size watch's own ~15-minute tick, **not** per turn like the rows above        |
+| `hyperhive.agent.claude_md.lines`        | —         | gauge     | none — recorded from the `AGENTS.md`-size watch's own ~15-minute tick, **not** per turn like the rows above        |
 | `hyperhive.agent.subagent_role.lines`    | —         | gauge     | `role` (the file stem) — one series per role file in `subagent_roles/`, on the same ~15-minute tick                |
 | `hyperhive.agent.claude_usage.percent`   | `%`       | gauge     | `window` (`five_hour`, `seven_day`, … as the usage endpoint names them) — polled every 5 minutes, **not** per turn |
 | `hyperhive.agent.claude_usage.resets_at` | `s`       | gauge     | `window` — unix seconds at which that window resets; same 5-minute poll                                            |

docs/tools/hivectl.md

@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ lands in a faithful copy of the agent's environment:
   agent's `/home/<name>/.claude` where its OAuth credentials live. choom
   prefixes the machine with `<name>@` (the meta-flake sets the agent's
   unix user name to its label).
-- **from `/agents/<name>/state`**: the session and `CLAUDE.md` (the
+- **from `/agents/<name>/state`**: the session and `AGENTS.md` (the
   persona) resolve against the right project dir.
 - **with the harness flags**: `--settings`, `--mcp-config`, and
   `--system-prompt-file` from `/run/hive-config/` — the same files the

docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md

@@ -210,9 +210,12 @@ still applies.
 The child runs with `cwd = /state` (when the bind exists; falls
 back to the parent's cwd in dev), so any relative path in a tool
 call (`Read foo.md`, `Bash ls`, `Write notes.md`) lands in the
-agent's durable bind-mounted dir. CLAUDE.md autoload walks
+agent's durable bind-mounted dir. AGENTS.md autoload walks
-upward from `/state` — drop a per-agent CLAUDE.md there if you
+upward from `/state` — drop a per-agent AGENTS.md there if you
-want long-term hints that survive destroy/recreate.
+want long-term hints that survive destroy/recreate. A `CLAUDE.md`
+in `/state` or above it shadows `AGENTS.md`: claude then loads only
+the `CLAUDE.md` (see `docs/agent-lifecycle/persistence.md` for the
+boot-time rename).
 
 The wake prompt is intentionally minimal: the popped message's
 `from`/`body`, prefixed with a `[msg #<id>]` broker-row-id marker

docs/web-ui/agent.md

@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ hit-rate** (`cache_read` over all input-side tokens) and
 scheduled / delivered / pending** for the window. When the
 per-session capture has data, a **first-turn ctx** chip shows the
 input tokens of the most recent fresh claude session's first turn —
-a proxy for system-prompt + CLAUDE.md sprawl (a fresh session's first
+a proxy for system-prompt + AGENTS.md sprawl (a fresh session's first
 turn pays the full static prefix uncached). It's derived in `stats.rs`
 (`first_turn_ctx`: the first turn, `ORDER BY started_at LIMIT 1`, of
 the latest `sessions` row in the window) and stays out of the JSON

frontend/packages/agent/src/stats.js

@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ window.Chart = Chart;
       chips.push(["sessions", fmtInt(s.session_count)]);
     }
     // First-turn ctx: input tokens of the most recent fresh session's
-    // first turn — the cold system-prompt + CLAUDE.md cost, a sprawl
+    // first turn — the cold system-prompt + AGENTS.md cost, a sprawl
     // proxy. Omitted from the JSON (and so absent here) until the
     // per-session capture has data.
     if (typeof s.first_turn_ctx === "number") {

hive-agent/prompts/system.md

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ Durable knowledge:
 
 - write to `/agents/{label}/state/notes.md` (free-form) or any other path under `/agents/{label}/state/`. That directory is bind-mounted from the host and persists across container destroy/recreate — claude's `--continue` session only carries short-term context, but `/agents/{label}/state/` is forever. Read it back at the start of relevant turns to remember things across resets.
 
-**Work dir**: `/agents/{label}/work/` is the place for git worktrees, clones, build trees and other bulky scratch. It is bind-mounted from the host, persists across container destroy/recreate and is backed up. Keep `state/` for notes and small durable files. Don't keep work under `/home`, `/tmp` or other container paths — they are outside what's backed up. Start subagents with their `dir` under `work/` (that is also the default): a claude started under `state/` walks up into `state/CLAUDE.md` and takes on your identity, one under `work/` doesn't.
+**Work dir**: `/agents/{label}/work/` is the place for git worktrees, clones, build trees and other bulky scratch. It is bind-mounted from the host, persists across container destroy/recreate and is backed up. Keep `state/` for notes and small durable files. Don't keep work under `/home`, `/tmp` or other container paths — they are outside what's backed up. Start subagents with their `dir` under `work/` (that is also the default): a claude started under `state/` walks up into `state/AGENTS.md` and takes on your identity, one under `work/` doesn't.
 
 Claude session (OAuth credentials) lives at `/root/.claude/` and persists across restarts.
 

hive-agent/src/agents_md_migrate.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+//! One-time on-boot rename of the agent's instructions file from
+//! `state/CLAUDE.md` to `state/AGENTS.md`. Runs in `main.rs` before the
+//! first turn. Idempotent: once the file is renamed, later boots find no
+//! `CLAUDE.md` and do nothing.
+//!
+//! Claude Code reads `AGENTS.md` only when no `CLAUDE.md` exists in its cwd
+//! or above, so a `CLAUDE.md` left next to an `AGENTS.md` shadows it. When
+//! both exist this module refuses to choose: it logs an error naming both
+//! paths and leaves the files alone for the agent or operator to merge.
+
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+
+use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+
+/// What [`rename_claude_md`] found and did.
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum Outcome {
+    /// `CLAUDE.md` existed without an `AGENTS.md`, and is now `AGENTS.md`.
+    Renamed,
+    /// Neither file, or only `AGENTS.md`: nothing to do.
+    NothingToDo,
+    /// Both files exist; neither was touched.
+    BothExist {
+        claude_md: PathBuf,
+        agents_md: PathBuf,
+    },
+}
+
+/// Rename `<state_dir>/CLAUDE.md` to `<state_dir>/AGENTS.md` if only the
+/// former exists. Logs the outcome; never fatal to boot.
+pub fn run(state_dir: &Path) {
+    match rename_claude_md(state_dir) {
+        Ok(Outcome::Renamed) => {
+            tracing::info!(dir = %state_dir.display(), "renamed CLAUDE.md to AGENTS.md");
+        }
+        Ok(Outcome::NothingToDo) => {}
+        Ok(Outcome::BothExist {
+            claude_md,
+            agents_md,
+        }) => tracing::error!(
+            claude_md = %claude_md.display(),
+            agents_md = %agents_md.display(),
+            "both CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md exist; claude loads only CLAUDE.md while it exists. \
+             Merge them into AGENTS.md and delete CLAUDE.md"
+        ),
+        Err(e) => tracing::error!(error = ?e, "CLAUDE.md to AGENTS.md rename failed"),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Decide and apply the rename.
+///
+/// # Errors
+///
+/// Propagates a failed `rename`; both files are left as they were.
+pub fn rename_claude_md(state_dir: &Path) -> Result<Outcome> {
+    let claude_md = state_dir.join("CLAUDE.md");
+    let agents_md = state_dir.join("AGENTS.md");
+    match (claude_md.exists(), agents_md.exists()) {
+        (true, false) => {
+            std::fs::rename(&claude_md, &agents_md).with_context(|| {
+                format!("rename {} -> {}", claude_md.display(), agents_md.display())
+            })?;
+            Ok(Outcome::Renamed)
+        }
+        (true, true) => Ok(Outcome::BothExist {
+            claude_md,
+            agents_md,
+        }),
+        (false, _) => Ok(Outcome::NothingToDo),
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn claude_md_alone_is_renamed_once() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+        std::fs::write(dir.path().join("CLAUDE.md"), "me\n").expect("write");
+
+        assert_eq!(rename_claude_md(dir.path()).expect("run"), Outcome::Renamed);
+        assert!(!dir.path().join("CLAUDE.md").exists());
+        assert_eq!(
+            std::fs::read_to_string(dir.path().join("AGENTS.md")).expect("read"),
+            "me\n"
+        );
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            rename_claude_md(dir.path()).expect("second run"),
+            Outcome::NothingToDo
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            std::fs::read_to_string(dir.path().join("AGENTS.md")).expect("read"),
+            "me\n"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn both_present_touches_neither() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+        let claude_md = dir.path().join("CLAUDE.md");
+        let agents_md = dir.path().join("AGENTS.md");
+        std::fs::write(&claude_md, "old\n").expect("write");
+        std::fs::write(&agents_md, "new\n").expect("write");
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            rename_claude_md(dir.path()).expect("run"),
+            Outcome::BothExist {
+                claude_md: claude_md.clone(),
+                agents_md: agents_md.clone(),
+            }
+        );
+        assert_eq!(std::fs::read_to_string(&claude_md).expect("read"), "old\n");
+        assert_eq!(std::fs::read_to_string(&agents_md).expect("read"), "new\n");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn neither_present_creates_nothing() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            rename_claude_md(dir.path()).expect("run"),
+            Outcome::NothingToDo
+        );
+        assert_eq!(std::fs::read_dir(dir.path()).expect("ls").count(), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn agents_md_alone_is_left_alone() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+        std::fs::write(dir.path().join("AGENTS.md"), "me\n").expect("write");
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            rename_claude_md(dir.path()).expect("run"),
+            Outcome::NothingToDo
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            std::fs::read_to_string(dir.path().join("AGENTS.md")).expect("read"),
+            "me\n"
+        );
+    }
+}

hive-agent/src/claude_md_watch.rs

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-//! `CLAUDE.md` size watch: raises a loose-ends-v2 todo when the agent's
+//! `AGENTS.md` size watch: raises a loose-ends-v2 todo when the agent's
-//! own `CLAUDE.md` grows past 500 lines, and feeds the same line count
+//! own `AGENTS.md` grows past 500 lines, and feeds the same line count
 //! into an OTEL gauge every tick regardless of threshold. Per the
 //! operator's own framing of the ask — "claude md is personality and
 //! how you organize yourself, not a work log" — the prompt is asked to
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 //! summary) — a third instance of the same anti-nag pattern rather than
 //! a new one.
 //!
-//! `CLAUDE.md` lives at the top of the agent's own state dir — the same
+//! `AGENTS.md` lives at the top of the agent's own state dir — the same
 //! directory `claude --print` runs with as its cwd (`turn::session_cwd`),
 //! which is how the CLI's own auto-load discovers it.
 //!
@@ -40,20 +40,24 @@ const WARN_LINES: u64 = 500;
 const BUCKET: u64 = 50;
 /// Producing subsystem marker for the todo row.
 const SUBSYSTEM: &str = "claude_md";
-/// Fixed dedup key — there is only ever one `CLAUDE.md`-size todo per
+/// Fixed dedup key — there is only ever one `AGENTS.md`-size todo per
 /// agent.
 const TODO_KEY: &str = "size";
 
-/// Background loop: periodically reconcile the `CLAUDE.md`-size todo and
+/// Background loop: periodically reconcile the `AGENTS.md`-size todo and
 /// feed the OTEL gauge. Detached task — runs for the harness's lifetime;
 /// errors are logged, never fatal.
 pub async fn run(todos: Arc<Todos>, wake: Arc<Notify>) {
     loop {
         tokio::time::sleep(CHECK_INTERVAL).await;
-        let lines = match tokio::task::spawn_blocking(|| line_count(&claude_md_path())).await {
+        let lines = match tokio::task::spawn_blocking(|| {
+            line_count(&agents_md_path(&crate::paths::state_dir()))
+        })
+        .await
+        {
             Ok(l) => l,
             Err(e) => {
-                tracing::warn!(error = %e, "claude.md watch probe panicked");
+                tracing::warn!(error = %e, "agents.md watch probe panicked");
                 continue;
             }
         };
@@ -72,25 +76,25 @@ fn reconcile(todos: &Todos, wake: &Notify, summary: Option<&str>) {
         Some(summary) => match todos.upsert(SUBSYSTEM, Some(TODO_KEY), summary, None, false) {
             Ok((_, true)) => wake.notify_one(),
             Ok((_, false)) => {}
-            Err(e) => tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "claude.md todo upsert failed"),
+            Err(e) => tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "agents.md todo upsert failed"),
         },
         None => {
             if let Err(e) = todos.clear(SUBSYSTEM, Some(TODO_KEY)) {
-                tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "claude.md todo clear failed");
+                tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "agents.md todo clear failed");
             }
         }
     }
 }
 
-/// `CLAUDE.md`'s path: the top of the agent's own state dir, matching
+/// `AGENTS.md`'s path: the top of the agent's own state dir, matching
 /// where `claude --print` runs (`turn::session_cwd`) and therefore where
 /// its own auto-load discovers the file.
-fn claude_md_path() -> std::path::PathBuf {
+fn agents_md_path(state_dir: &Path) -> std::path::PathBuf {
-    crate::paths::state_dir().join("CLAUDE.md")
+    state_dir.join("AGENTS.md")
 }
 
 /// Line count of the file at `path`. `None` when it can't be read — no
-/// `CLAUDE.md` yet is not a warning, and a transient read failure isn't
+/// `AGENTS.md` yet is not a warning, and a transient read failure isn't
 /// either.
 fn line_count(path: &Path) -> Option<u64> {
     let contents = std::fs::read_to_string(path).ok()?;
@@ -108,9 +112,9 @@ fn summary_for(lines: u64) -> Option<String> {
     }
     let bucket = lines / BUCKET * BUCKET;
     Some(format!(
-        "your CLAUDE.md is {bucket}+ lines. CLAUDE.md is personality and how you organize \
+        "your AGENTS.md is {bucket}+ lines. AGENTS.md is personality and how you organize \
          yourself, not a work log — if it's grown past that, moving detail into separate files \
-         (linked from CLAUDE.md) or an archive is what actually shrinks this count. It \
+         (linked from AGENTS.md) or an archive is what actually shrinks this count. It \
          auto-loads into every turn, so a smaller file is a fixed cost saved on every turn. \
          Nothing here is a hard limit, and deleting stale content outright is fine too if \
          that's genuinely what it is — no obligation either way. No need to act on this now — \
@@ -175,16 +179,28 @@ mod tests {
     #[test]
     fn line_count_matches_editor_expectations() {
         let dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
-        let path = dir.path().join("CLAUDE.md");
+        let path = dir.path().join("AGENTS.md");
         // Three lines, trailing newline — an editor shows 3 lines, not 4.
         std::fs::write(&path, "one\ntwo\nthree\n").expect("write");
         assert_eq!(line_count(&path), Some(3));
     }
 
+    /// The watch counts `AGENTS.md`, and a leftover `CLAUDE.md` beside it
+    /// is not what it reads.
+    #[test]
+    fn watch_reads_agents_md_not_claude_md() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+        std::fs::write(dir.path().join("CLAUDE.md"), "one\n").expect("write");
+        assert_eq!(line_count(&agents_md_path(dir.path())), None);
+
+        std::fs::write(dir.path().join("AGENTS.md"), "one\ntwo\n").expect("write");
+        assert_eq!(line_count(&agents_md_path(dir.path())), Some(2));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn missing_file_is_silent_not_an_error() {
         assert_eq!(
-            line_count(Path::new("/definitely/does/not/exist/CLAUDE.md")),
+            line_count(Path::new("/definitely/does/not/exist/AGENTS.md")),
             None
         );
     }

hive-agent/src/main.rs

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 //! Single bin crate: the module tree below (formerly this crate's `lib.rs`,
 //! before lib + bin were collapsed into one) plus the serve loop.
 
+mod agents_md_migrate;
 mod boot_announce;
 mod claude_credentials;
 mod claude_md_watch;
@@ -215,7 +216,7 @@ fn graceful_stop_message() -> hive_sh4re::inbox::DeliveredMessage {
         body: "You are being gracefully stopped — the container will shut down after this turn, \
                and new inbound messages are already fenced. This is your one checkpoint turn: \
                flush anything worth keeping into your durable /state files now — update your \
-               notes / CLAUDE.md / TODO.md with in-flight task state, decisions made, important \
+               notes / AGENTS.md / TODO.md with in-flight task state, decisions made, important \
                file paths, and whatever you'd need to resume cleanly later with only a summary \
                of this conversation to go on. Do not start new work or reply to anyone; just \
                write your notes and end your turn. The session may be compacted after this turn \
@@ -450,7 +451,7 @@ fn spawn_todo_socket(
             // top level instead of disk pressure.
             tokio::spawn(state_entry_watch::run(store.clone(), todo_wake.clone()));
             // Same shape again: nudge (and feed an OTEL gauge) on a
-            // grown CLAUDE.md instead of a grown state dir.
+            // grown AGENTS.md instead of a grown state dir.
             tokio::spawn(claude_md_watch::run(store.clone(), todo_wake.clone()));
             // Swarm-scheduled prompts fire as todos too, from the list the
             // swarm keeps for this agent.
@@ -553,6 +554,8 @@ async fn serve_main<S: Surface>(socket: &Path, poll_ms: u64) -> Result<()> {
             tracing::error!(error = %e, "web_ui::serve exited with error");
         }
     });
+    // Before the first turn, so claude's own auto-load finds `AGENTS.md`.
+    agents_md_migrate::run(&paths::state_dir());
     // Harness-local reminders: a due reminder fires
     // straight into an mpsc channel the serve loop races against the
     // broker long-poll (unlike todos, a fire carries real per-row data,

hive-agent/src/otel_turn_metrics.rs

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ struct Instruments {
     open_threads: Gauge<u64>,
     open_reminders: Gauge<u64>,
     /// Recorded from [`crate::claude_md_watch`]'s own tick, not from
-    /// [`record`] — `CLAUDE.md` size is a continuously-live value (like
+    /// [`record`] — `AGENTS.md` size is a continuously-live value (like
     /// hive-c0re's container gauges), not a once-per-turn one, so it has
     /// its own entry point rather than riding `record`'s per-turn call.
     claude_md_lines: Gauge<u64>,
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ pub fn record(row: &TurnStatRow, fresh_session: bool) {
     }
 }
 
-/// Record the current `CLAUDE.md` line count. Called from
+/// Record the current `AGENTS.md` line count. Called from
 /// [`crate::claude_md_watch`]'s periodic tick (every ~15 minutes, not
 /// per turn) — see the field doc on [`Instruments::claude_md_lines`] for
 /// why this doesn't ride [`record`]. No-op when OTEL isn't configured,

hive-agent/src/stats.rs

@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ pub struct Snapshot {
     #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub reminder_stats: Option<ReminderStats>,
     /// First-turn input tokens of the most recent fresh claude session
-    /// that started in the window — a proxy for system-prompt + CLAUDE.md
+    /// that started in the window — a proxy for system-prompt + AGENTS.md
     /// sprawl (a fresh session's first turn pays the full static prefix
     /// uncached, so this is the current "cold context" cost). `None` until
     /// the sessions capture (per-session `session_id`) has data; every
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ fn snapshot(path: &Path, window: Window) -> Result<Snapshot> {
 }
 
 /// First-turn input tokens of the most recent fresh claude session that
-/// started in `[from, now]`. Tracks system-prompt + CLAUDE.md sprawl:
+/// started in `[from, now]`. Tracks system-prompt + AGENTS.md sprawl:
 /// the first turn of a fresh session (`--continue` suppressed) pays the
 /// full static prefix as uncached input, so watching this over time
 /// surfaces creep. Uses the agreed per-session derive — the first turn

hive-agent/src/turn.rs

@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ Your conversation context has grown large and the harness is about to run `/comp
 which collapses the detailed turn-by-turn history into a short summary. Anything you \
 do not persist now is effectively lost after the next turn.\n\n\
 Use THIS turn to flush anything worth keeping into your durable `/state` files: update \
-your notes / CLAUDE.md / TODO.md with in-flight task state, decisions made, important \
+your notes / AGENTS.md / TODO.md with in-flight task state, decisions made, important \
 file paths, and whatever you would need to resume cleanly with only a summary of this \
 conversation to go on. Do not start new work or reply to anyone — just write your notes \
 and end the turn.";