Compatibility
Lytos is two things. The content lives in .lytos/ — markdown files you can read, version, and copy to any machine. The delivery is how each AI tool picks up that content at session start. The content is universal. The delivery depends on each vendor’s convention for project-level instructions.
This page lists what’s verified today. The shortest answer: if your tool connects to a Git repository, Lytos works.
The compatibility matrix
Section titled “The compatibility matrix”| Tool | Auto-loads .lytos/ ? | Bridge file | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code (CLI) | ✅ native | CLAUDE.md | Generated by lyt init --tool claude. Reads nested CLAUDE.md files down the directory tree. |
| Claude Code Desktop | ✅ native | CLAUDE.md | Same engine as the CLI. Open the repo folder in the app and the bridge is read on first session. |
| Cursor | ✅ native | .cursor/rules/lytos.mdc | Generated by lyt init --tool cursor. Cursor reads .cursor/rules/*.mdc automatically. |
| Codex CLI (OpenAI) | ✅ native | AGENTS.md | Generated by lyt init --tool codex. Precedence: ~/.codex/AGENTS.md then Git-root down to cwd. 32 KiB cumulative limit. |
| GitHub Copilot Chat / Agents | ✅ native | .github/copilot-instructions.md | Generated by lyt init --tool copilot. Repository custom instructions read on every Copilot request. |
| Gemini CLI / Jules | ✅ native | GEMINI.md | Generated by lyt init --tool gemini. Root-level instructions read at session start. |
| Windsurf / Codeium | ✅ native | .windsurfrules | Generated by lyt init --tool windsurf. Cascade reads the file on every session. |
| Codex web app | ⚠️ to verify | — | The web app may not pick up AGENTS.md the same way the CLI does. Workaround: paste the bridge content into the web UI’s “Rules” field. |
| Claude.ai Projects (web) | ⚠️ manual | — | Paste the content of .lytos/manifest.md (or the generated CLAUDE.md bridge) into “Project instructions” once. |
| ChatGPT Projects (web) | ⚠️ manual | — | Same pattern — paste the manifest into “Custom instructions” for the project. |
| Any model via API | ⚙️ manual | — | Prepend .lytos/LYTOS.md and .lytos/manifest.md to the system prompt. |
Three ways to adopt Lytos
Section titled “Three ways to adopt Lytos”1. Native adapter — the happy path
Section titled “1. Native adapter — the happy path”Your editor or CLI reads a project-level file out of the box. Run lyt init --tool <name> once and the bridge is generated. The AI reads .lytos/ at every session, automatically.
This covers Claude Code (CLI and Desktop), Cursor, Codex CLI, Copilot, Gemini, Windsurf. No extra step per session.
2. Bridge-and-paste — for cloud apps without a file convention
Section titled “2. Bridge-and-paste — for cloud apps without a file convention”Some cloud apps (Claude.ai Projects, ChatGPT Projects, some enterprise chat interfaces) don’t auto-load a repo file even when the repo is connected. In that case:
- Run
lyt init --tool claude(or whichever generates the bridge closest to your tool’s expectations). - Copy the content of the generated bridge file.
- Paste it into the cloud app’s “Project instructions” or equivalent field, once per project.
You lose the automatic sync when .lytos/ evolves, but you can refresh with a single copy-paste whenever the manifest changes.
3. Prompt-level — for anything else
Section titled “3. Prompt-level — for anything else”Even without any convention, any LLM that can read files over a tool-call can use Lytos. The first instruction you give becomes:
“Before starting, read
.lytos/LYTOS.md, then.lytos/manifest.md, then.lytos/rules/default-rules.md. These describe the project — follow them.”
It’s less elegant than native integration, but it takes the exact same .lytos/ and makes it work with any model, any interface.
Why this matters
Section titled “Why this matters”The promise of Lytos is sovereign context: the same markdown works with any tool, in any workflow, forever. When you change editors next year, or when a new model becomes the best for your use case, you don’t restart. The manifest, the rules, the memory — they travel with the repo.
Native adapters are a convenience. The method itself works on any tool that can read text from a Git repository. That’s the guarantee we make, and the one you need before adopting.
Gaps we’re transparent about
Section titled “Gaps we’re transparent about”- Codex web app: we haven’t yet empirically verified whether it auto-loads
AGENTS.mdthe way the CLI does. The docs are ambiguous. Treat it as “bridge-and-paste” until we confirm. Tracked as ISS-0040. - Enterprise setups with cloud-only file access: behavior varies. The bridge-and-paste path always works.
- Real-time sync across tools: once the bridge is in place, subsequent changes to
.lytos/are picked up next session by native adapters. Cloud apps with pasted instructions need a manual refresh.
If you hit a tool not listed here, open an issue on lytos-cli — we’ll add it to the matrix.