Claude Code now reads AGENTS.md if there is no Claude.md
Anthropic's Claude Code 2.1.277 adds AGENTS.md support as fallback project instructions when no CLAUDE.md exists, plus gateway proxy options and many bug fixes.
The Claude Code changelog entry for September 18, 2026 (version 2.1.277) adds AGENTS.md support: in projects without a CLAUDE.md, Claude Code now reads AGENTS.md as project instructions, changeable under /config (not yet on Bedrock, Vertex or Foundry). The release also adds CLAUDE_GATEWAY_PROXY_IS_EGRESS_BOUNDARY=1 for gateways whose only egress is a forward proxy, and an optional static headers map for gateway upstreams. Numerous bugs were fixed, including hanging claude -p and Agent SDK sessions, malformed customApiKeyResponses crashes, plugin install corruption, Edit tool escape-sequence mishandling, and update-check errors behind proxies.
- AGENTS.md is now read when no CLAUDE.md exists; unavailable on Bedrock, Vertex and Foundry
- New CLAUDE_GATEWAY_PROXY_IS_EGRESS_BOUNDARY env var routes egress hostnames through a forward proxy
- Optional headers map sends static headers to Claude apps gateway upstreams
- Fixes cover hanging sessions, plugin installs, Edit tool escape handling, and proxy update checks
From the original article
13 min read at code.claude.comRelease notes for Claude Code, including new features, improvements, and bug fixes by version. Added AGENTS. md support: in a project with no CLAUDE.
By datadrivenangel · code.claude.com
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