AGENTS.md Template for Backward Compatibility Reviews

Overview

Direct answer style summary: This AGENTS.md template for backward compatibility reviews provides a formal operating manual to govern single-agent and multi-agent workflows for compatibility checks across software versions. It establishes roles, handoffs, memory, tool governance, and escalation procedures to ensure traceability and controlled changes.

When to Use This AGENTS.md Template

• Use when planning backward compatibility reviews for API or interface changes that affect downstream consumers.
• Use when coordinating multiple agents across discovery, validation, and release readiness steps.
• Use to enforce guardrails, auditing, and human review gates for compatibility changes.

Copyable AGENTS.md Template

Below is a ready-to-paste AGENTS.md template block you can drop into your project as the operating context for single-agent or multi-agent backward compatibility review workflows.

# AGENTS.md

Project role: Backward compatibility review system

Agent roster and responsibilities:
- Planner: defines the review scope, plan, and milestones
- Implementer: executes checks, scripts, and any necessary code adjustments
- Reviewer: verifies results, ensures risk controls
- Tester: runs compatibility tests and regression suites
- Researcher: gathers compatibility data, dependencies, and release notes
- Domain Specialist: provides subject matter checks for specific interfaces

Supervisor or orchestrator behavior:
- Orchestrator coordinates tasks, enforces memory and sources of truth, and triggers handoffs
- Maintains single source of truth for results and artifacts
- Enforces escalation when blockers appear

Handoff rules between agents:
- Planner completes plan and hands off to Implementer with context and artifacts
- Implementer hands off to Reviewer for validation, then to Tester for execution
- Any blocker escalates to Supervisor with recommended mitigation

Context, memory, and source-of-truth rules:
- All inputs, decisions, and outputs live in a versioned memory store
- Source of truth: tests, logs, and artifacts are stored in the repository or memory bucket
- Agents must reference the memory store for decisions

Tool access and permission rules:
- Only approved tools may be invoked
- Secrets must not be written to logs; use secure vaults
- Production systems require explicit approval gates

Architecture rules:
- Use a modular architecture with clear interfaces between Planner, Implementer, and Reviewer
- Avoid architecture drift by storing decisions in the memory store

File structure rules:
- All templates and artifacts live under a single project root
- Avoid duplicating outputs; reuse memory artifacts when possible

Data, API, or integration rules when relevant:
- Define stable API contracts for compatibility checks
- Record API version mappings and deprecation notes

Validation rules:
- Validate that all new changes preserve existing behavior where required
- Include pre/post-condition checks and exact exit criteria

Security rules:
- Do not expose secrets in code or logs
- Use role-based access controls for all actions

Testing rules:
- Run unit and integration tests for compatibility surfaces
- Include regression tests for APIs and interfaces

Deployment rules:
- Follow controlled deployment with canary or blue-green as appropriate
- Roll back on failure and record incident details

Human review and escalation rules:
- All critical decisions require human sign-off
- Escalate to Release Engineer when blockers persist

Failure handling and rollback rules:
- If compatibility checks fail, revert to the previous stable baseline
- Preserve evidence for audit and debugging

Things Agents must not do:
- Do not bypass approvals
- Do not modify production without consent
- Do not ignore memory or source-of-truth stores

Recommended Agent Operating Model

Roles collaborate within a defined decision boundary. Planner initiates, Implementer executes, Reviewer validates, Tester confirms, Researcher informs, Domain Specialist provides specialized checks. Escalation paths exist for blockers.

Recommended Project Structure

Workflow-specific directory tree:

backward-compatibility-review/
  agents/
    planner/
    implementer/
    reviewer/
    tester/
    researcher/
    domain-specialist/
  orchestrator/
  memory/
  data/
  integrations/
  tests/
  deployments/
  docs/

Core Operating Principles

• Operate with explicit handoffs and traceable memory
• Keep decisions auditable and reversible
• Favor safe defaults and explicit approvals
• Minimize context drift and duplication
• Maintain separation of concerns

Agent Handoff and Collaboration Rules

Planner to Implementer: provide plan, inputs, and success criteria. Implementer to Reviewer: provide results, logs, and evidence. Researcher to Domain Specialist: supply context and checks. Escalation as needed with rationale.

Tool Governance and Permission Rules

Only approved tool calls. Secrets in secure vaults. Production actions require approvals. Logging is restricted to non-secret traces. Handoffs include context.

Code Construction Rules

Follow project-level conventions. Use idempotent actions. Validate code with tests before merging. Do not duplicate tasks.

Security and Production Rules

Limit access to production. Encrypt sensitive data. Rotate credentials. Monitor for anomalies during releases.

Testing Checklist

• Unit tests for compatibility primitives
• Integration tests for API contracts
• End-to-end tests for critical user flows
• Canary or blue-green tests where applicable

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Bypassing approvals
• Context drift or memory inconsistency
• Ignoring memory or source-of-truth artifacts
• Overreliance on automated changes without human review

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FAQ

What is the purpose of this AGENTS.md template for backward compatibility reviews?

The template defines a formal operating manual to govern single-agent and multi-agent workflows for compatibility checks and versioning across releases.

Who is the intended audience for this template?

Engineers, platform teams, and product leaders implementing backward compatibility reviews with AI coding agents.

How do agents coordinate handoffs during a backward compatibility review?

Planner creates the plan and passes context to Implementer; Reviewer validates results; Tester executes checks; escalations go to the Supervisor when blockers appear.

What security and access controls govern backward compatibility review tooling?

Access is role-based, secrets are stored securely, and production actions require explicit approvals and traceable logs.

How are validation failures and rollback handled?

Failures trigger a rollback to the last stable baseline, with evidence stored for audit, and incident notes added to the memory store.