AI Coding Conventions Ecosystem

aid: conventions-md:related-conventions
name: AI Coding Conventions Ecosystem
tags:
- AI Coding
- Comparison
- Conventions
image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
humanURL: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/memory
properties:
- url: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/memory
  type: Documentation
- url: https://docs.cursor.com/context/rules-for-ai
  type: Documentation
- url: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/customizing-copilot/adding-repository-custom-instructions-for-github-copilot
  type: Documentation
- url: https://aider.chat/docs/usage/conventions.html
  type: Documentation
description: 'CONVENTIONS.md sits alongside several closely related AI coding conventions. CLAUDE.md is
  used by Claude Code for repository memory. .cursor/rules and .cursorrules are used by Cursor. .github/copilot-
  instructions.md is used by GitHub Copilot. Each follows a similar pattern: a Markdown or text file describing
  repository-specific rules that gets injected into the AI assistant prompt context. CONVENTIONS.md is
  the most tool-agnostic option and is widely adopted across multiple AI coding agents.'
x-features:
- Tool-agnostic file naming compared to CLAUDE.md or .cursorrules
- Often committed to repo root for visibility to humans and AI
- Frequently referenced by other agent files such as CLAUDE.md
- Composable with .editorconfig, .prettierrc, and lint configurations
x-useCases:
- Sharing one set of rules across aider, Cursor, Cline, and Claude Code
- Consolidating coding standards for human and AI contributors
- Documenting cross-cutting concerns separate from tool-specific config