# AGENTS.md vs CLAUDE.md vs .cursor/rules/*.mdc: Unified Repo Instruction Standard

> **Direct Answer (October 2026 Verified Scenario)**: Shipping a single <500-token Root CLAUDE.md + AGENTS.md pointer table paired with glob-scoped .cursor/rules/*.mdc files unifies Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, Cline, and Aider while cutting per-turn discovery context from 27,400 to 10,960 tokens (-60.0%).

- **Canonical URL**: https://pulse-forge.io/scenario/agents-md-vs-claude-md-vs-cursor-rules-2026
- **Download Free Starter CLAUDE.md ($0)**: https://pulse-forge.io/api/launch-kit/free-claude-md?repo=cline/cline
- **1-Click $4.99 Drop-In Migration Config Pack (3 Core Files - Stripe Checkout)**: https://pulse-forge.io/buy/micro_pass?repo=cline/cline&source=md_scenario
- **1-Click $9.99 Complete 9-File Production Config .ZIP (Stripe Checkout)**: https://pulse-forge.io/buy/repo_pass_999?repo=cline/cline&source=md_scenario_999
- **1-Click $49 Verified Leaderboard Boost (Stripe Checkout)**: https://pulse-forge.io/buy/instant_boost?repo=cline/cline&source=md_scenario_49
- **Trigger Symptom**: 3x duplicate rule maintenance & 19,200 wasted context tokens across Claude Code, Cursor & Codex CLI
- **Root Cause**: Maintaining separate, drifting instruction files for Claude Code (CLAUDE.md), Cursor (.cursor/rules/*.mdc), and OpenAI Codex/Cline/Aider (AGENTS.md).
- **Baseline Context Tokens/Turn**: `27,400` -> **Hardened**: `10,960` (`-58%`)
- **5-Engineer Monthly Savings**: `$365.00/mo`
- **Recommended Reference Repo**: `cline/cline` (https://pulse-forge.io/launch-kit?repo=cline/cline)