AGENTS.md Template for Distributed Cache Invalidation

Overview

A concise direct answer style summary: The AGENTS.md Template for distributed cache invalidation defines a repeatable operating manual for coordinating AI coding agents to invalidate caches across a distributed system, supporting both a single agent with a well-defined sequence and multi agent orchestration with explicit handoffs.

When to Use This AGENTS.md Template

• Use when caches are distributed across services and you need coordinated invalidation on events or TTL changes
• Use when multiple caches or data stores need consistent invalidation to avoid stale reads
• Use when you need auditable decision trails and controlled handoffs between agents
• Use when tool governance and security policies require standardized operating context

Copyable AGENTS.md Template

# AGENTS.md
Project role: Distributed Cache Invalidation Controller
Agent roster and responsibilities:
- Planner (Orchestrator): defines plan, sequences tasks, and maintains workflow state
- Implementer: executes invalidation across distributed caches
- Researcher: collects event triggers and TTL data
- Validator: verifies invalidation results and cache coherence
- Tester: conducts unit, integration, and end-to-end checks
- Reviewer: reviews changes before deployment
- Domain Specialist: adapts rules for domain specific caches
- Human On-Call: escalation path for production risk
Supervisor or orchestrator behavior:
- Planner enforces idempotence, auditable state, and failure handling
- Planner coordinates handoffs and retries with backoff
Handoff rules between agents:
- Planner assigns work to Implementer with a clear plan and expected results
- Implementer returns results; Validator proceeds or escalates
- Validator validates results; if ok, Tester runs tests; if fail, escalate
Context, memory, and source-of-truth rules:
- Context: invalidation scope, keys, and event triggers
- Memory: last run id, last invalidated keys, and results snapshot
- Source of truth: central invalidation log and cache state dashboard
Tool access and permission rules:
- Access limited to necessary APIs; secrets stored securely
- Use short lived tokens with scoped permissions
- Production systems require approvals and feature flags
Architecture rules:
- Central dispatcher with per-cache adapters
- Events drive invalidation; operations are idempotent
- All changes are auditable and replayable
File structure rules:
- All workflow code lives under a single repository with a workflow specific directory
- No duplication of logic across agents
Data, API, or integration rules when relevant:
- Invalidation calls must include a reason and correlation id
- Respect rate limits and backpressure
Validation rules:
- Validate that targeted keys are invalidated across all caches
- Confirm no stale reads occur post invalidation
Security rules:
- Encrypt in transit; oauth or token based auth
- Secrets managed in a vault with rotation
Testing rules:
- Unit tests for each agent
- Integration tests for planner -> implementer -> validator handoffs
- End-to-end tests in staging with rollback capability
Deployment rules:
- Deploy in small, reversible steps with feature flags
- Monitor dashboards after deployment
Human review and escalation rules:
- Any production risk change requires human review and on-call sign-off
Failure handling and rollback rules:
- On failure, retry with exponential backoff; if persists, rollback to last known good state
- Do not proceed to next step until validations pass
Things Agents must not do:
- Do not bypass plan and validation steps
- Do not perform cache invalidation without proper authorization
- Do not mutate source of truth without audit trail

Recommended Agent Operating Model

The agents operate in a bounded collaboration model: Planner coordinates, Implementer performs invalidations, Validator checks results, Tester and Reviewer ensure quality, Domain Specialist adapts to domain specifics, Researcher feeds triggers, and Human On Call handles critical on call escalation.

Recommended Project Structure

distributed-cache-invalidation/
├── planner/
├── implementer/
├── researcher/
├── tester/
├── reviewer/
├── domain-specialist/
├── configs/
├── workflows/
├── integrations/
├── tests/

Core Operating Principles

• Idempotence across all invalidation operations
• Auditability of decisions and handoffs
• Least privilege and secret management
• Clear escalation paths for failures
• Deterministic and observable workflows

Agent Handoff and Collaboration Rules

• Planner to Implementer: include plan, keys, reasons, and expected results
• Implementer to Validator: provide results and evidence of invalidation
• Validator to Tester: verify validations and trigger tests
• Researcher to Planner: provide event triggers and TTL data
• Domain Specialist involvement when cache semantics vary by domain

Tool Governance and Permission Rules

• API access scoped to cache operations only
• Secrets stored in vault; rotate on cadence
• Production systems require approvals and feature flags
• All tool actions are logged

Code Construction Rules

• Implement idempotent invalidation calls
• Avoid duplicative invalidations
• Use correlation ids for traceability
• Validate outputs before state changes

Security and Production Rules

• Encrypt in transit; use token based auth
• Enforce least privilege for all agents
• Secrets rotation and access review

Testing Checklist

• Unit tests for each agent
• Integration tests for end-to-end handoffs
• Staging tests with rollback scenarios
• Security and access control tests

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Skipping validations before deployment
• Overloading the planner with non-idempotent tasks
• Ignoring domain specific cache semantics

FAQ

What is the purpose of this AGENTS.md Template?

It defines a repeatable operating manual for distributed cache invalidation using AI coding agents, enabling single and multi-agent orchestration with clear roles, handoffs, and governance.

Who is the planner in this workflow?

The Planner orchestrates tasks, sequences work, and maintains auditable state.

How are handoffs between agents defined?

Handoffs are explicit with context and results passed between agents; failures escalate to the supervisor.

How is security handled for caches and secrets?

Access is least privilege, with short lived credentials and vault-managed secrets; all channels are encrypted.

What tests validate the invalidation workflow?

Unit tests for agents, integration tests for handoffs, and end-to-end tests in staging with rollback.

How do you validate invalidation results?

Cross-cache validation confirms all targeted keys are invalidated and monitors for stale reads.

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