Repo-Info Agent

Context management agent that generates and maintains comprehensive project snapshots for enhanced coding agent performance

What is the Repo-Info Agent?

The Repo-Info Agent is Zencoder’s intelligent context management agent that generates and maintains a comprehensive snapshot of your project structure. This snapshot serves as a contextual foundation for all other agents, automatically included in every request to provide persistent project awareness without manual intervention.

How To Use It

The Repo-Info Agent seamlessly integrates with your development workflow:

1. Access the Repo-Info Agent

   Open the agent selector with Cmd+. (Mac) or Ctrl+. (Windows/Linux) and select Repo-Info Agent.

   

   Then use the prompt:

   Generate repo.md file with information from my repo
   

2. Project analysis

   The agent performs a comprehensive analysis of your project structure, dependencies, build configurations, and development workflows

3. Context file generation

   A structured Markdown file is generated at .zencoder/rules/repo.md that serves as persistent project memory for all agents

How It Works

The Repo-Info Agent operates by analyzing your project and creating a persistent memory of your project configuration:

1. Project analysis

   When executed, the Repo-Info Agent performs a comprehensive analysis of your project structure, dependencies, build configurations, and development workflows

2. File generation

   The agent generates a structured Markdown file at .zencoder/rules/repo.md that serves as the agent’s persistent memory of your project

3. Context integration

   The repo.md file is automatically injected into Coding agent’s context for every request, ensuring consistent project awareness

What Information is Captured

The Repo-Info Agent performs a comprehensive analysis capturing:

Project structure

Directory hierarchy, module organization, source code layout conventions, and asset locations

Dependency management

Package manager detection, dependency listings from lock files, version constraints, and dev vs. production segregation

Build configuration

Build tool configurations, runtime environments, environment variable patterns, and compilation targets

Technology stack

Programming languages and versions, framework detection, database configurations, and API patterns

Benefits

With proper context from the Repo-Info Agent, you can expect:

• Reduced discovery operations as the coding agents will understand project layout immediately without extensive exploration
• Accurate commands with correct package manager and tool usage based on project configuration
• Better suggestions including framework-aware recommendations that align with your project patterns
• Consistent behavior helping you maintain project conventions across all agent interactions

Usage and Best Practices

When to Run the Repo-Info Agent

Create repo.md when you start working with Zencoder on existing repositories or when introducing larger changes.

In some cases, Zencoder will automatically suggest running this agent when you first open a project.

We also suggest running it in the following scenarios after major:

• Adding new modules, services, or packages
• Installing, updating, or removing dependencies
• Modifying build tools or environment setup
• Upgrading frameworks or switching tools

Enhanced Context Requests

You can customize the generated context by asking the agent to include additional details or focus on specific aspects of your project.

Example:

Generate repo.md file with information from my repo,
please include details about our custom build pipeline and API versioning strategy

Version Control Strategy

Consider adding .zencoder/rules/repo.md to your repository for:

• Team consistency so that all developers start with the same project context
• Onboarding efficiency could help new team members get immediate project understanding
• Context versioning might be useful if you want to track how project structure evolves over time
• Reduced setup time meaning that you don’t need to regenerate on every clone

Manual Enhancements

The generated context file can be manually edited to include:

• Architectural patterns and explain how your code is organized
• Naming conventions to match your team’s specific standards
• Key dependencies and reasoning why certain packages are critical
• Custom tooling describing non-standard build or development processes
• Links to documentation which might include internal design documents or wikis

When editing repo.md, maintain the existing section structure and focus on information that helps agents understand your project better.

Related Agents and Capabilities

Other agents and features that benefit from the Repo-Info Agent’s project context:

Coding Agent

Uses repo context for more intelligent code generation and modifications

Web Dev Agent

Leverages project context to create web UIs and tests aligning with existing patterns and conventions

Unit Testing Agent

Leverages project structure understanding for better test generation

E2E Testing Agent

Benefits from project context when creating comprehensive test scenarios

Ask Agent

Enhanced with comprehensive project context for more accurate answers

AI Agents

Custom agents can utilize the established project context for specialized tasks

Zen Rules

Zen Rules

The repo.md file is part of the Zen Rules system - learn how to create additional project-specific rules