AI Coding Tools

Set up pair to work with your AI coding assistant — Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, or Codex.

pair works with any AI coding assistant that can read project files. Each tool has its own configuration format, but they all connect to the same source of truth: your .pair/ directory.

The Bridge Pattern

pair installs bridge files that let each AI tool discover your Knowledge Base and adoption files in its native way:

AGENTS.md              → Claude Code, Codex, and any AGENTS.md-compatible tool
CLAUDE.md              → Claude Code
.github/agents/        → GitHub Copilot
.cursor/rules/         → Cursor
.windsurf/rules/       → Windsurf
.agents/skills/        → Codex
.agent/skills/         → generic Agent Skills discovery path

All bridge files point to .pair/. One source of truth, multiple entry points. When you update your adoption files or install new skills, every AI tool picks up the changes automatically.

pair skills follow the Agent Skills open standard — not a proprietary format. Any AI tool that supports Agent Skills can discover and invoke pair's process and capability skills. This means you're not locked into a single assistant: your team can use different tools while following the same standards.

Coexistence with Other Skills

pair skills coexist with custom skills or skills from other tools. The prefix in config.json (default: "pair") namespaces all installed skills — e.g., pair-process-implement, pair-capability-verify-quality. Your own skills or skills from other sources use different prefixes (or no prefix), so there are no naming clashes:

.claude/skills/
├── pair-process-implement/       ← pair skill (prefix: "pair")
├── pair-capability-verify-quality/
├── acme-deploy-staging/          ← another tool (prefix: "acme")
└── my-custom-skill/              ← your own skill (no prefix)

Supported Tools

Tool	Bridge File	Skill Invocation
Claude Code	`AGENTS.md` + `CLAUDE.md`	`/skill-name` slash commands
Codex	`AGENTS.md` + `.agents/skills/`	`/skill-name` slash commands
Cursor	`.cursor/rules/`	Skill file discovery
GitHub Copilot	`.github/agents/`	Agent mode
Windsurf	`.windsurf/rules/`	Skill file discovery

Pick your tool and follow the setup guide. The process takes a few minutes.

Other AGENTS.md-Compatible Tools

AGENTS.md is a convention adopted by a growing number of AI tools. Any tool that reads AGENTS.md at the repository root works with pair out of the box — no dedicated bridge needed. pair also distributes skills to .agent/skills/ as a generic discovery path. If your tool supports the Agent Skills standard and reads from this location, it will find pair's skills automatically.

Skill Distribution & config.json

pair distributes skills to all AI tools simultaneously from a single source. The distribution is controlled by config.json in the KB:

How It Works

KB source (.skills/)
    ↓ flatten + prefix transforms
.claude/skills/              (canonical — physical copies)
    ↓ symlinks
.github/skills/              → .claude/skills/
.cursor/skills/              → .claude/skills/
.windsurf/skills/            → .claude/skills/
.agent/skills/               → .claude/skills/
.agents/skills/              → .claude/skills/

Canonical target (.claude/skills/) receives physical copies of all skills
Secondary targets receive relative symlinks pointing to the canonical copy
On Windows, symlinks fall back to full copies automatically

Distribution Modes

Mode	Behavior	Used For
`canonical`	Physical copy, source of truth	`.claude/skills/`
`symlink`	Relative symlink to canonical	`.github/skills/`, `.cursor/skills/`, etc.
`copy`	Independent copy with optional transforms	`CLAUDE.md` (transformed from `AGENTS.md`)

Transform Pipeline

Skills in the KB use a category structure. pair transforms them during installation:

Source:      .skills/process/implement/SKILL.md
Flatten:     process/implement → process-implement
Prefix:      process-implement → pair-process-implement
Installed:   .claude/skills/pair-process-implement/SKILL.md
Symlinked:   .github/skills/pair-process-implement/ → .claude/...

The transform also rewrites internal references — skill-to-skill links and slash command names are updated to match the flattened/prefixed names.

Customizing Distribution

The config.json skills registry controls everything:

"skills": {
  "source": ".skills",
  "flatten": true,
  "prefix": "pair",
  "targets": [
    { "path": ".claude/skills/", "mode": "canonical" },
    { "path": ".github/skills/", "mode": "symlink" },
    { "path": ".cursor/skills/", "mode": "symlink" },
    { "path": ".windsurf/skills/", "mode": "symlink" }
  ]
}

By default, pair distributes skills to all major AI tools (Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, Codex). To support only specific tools in your project, add or remove targets from the skills.targets array. The same applies to the agents registry for bridge files. This keeps your repository clean — only the tool directories your team actually uses.

Agent Integration concept — how the bridge pattern works in depth
Skills concept — what skills are and how they work
PM Tools — project management tool integrations