> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://agentcompanies.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> Agent Companies is a vendor-neutral protocol for describing portable AI companies.

<Note>
  Agent Companies is a vendor-neutral protocol for describing portable AI
  company packages. It extends [Agent Skills](https://agentskills.io) and is
  `SKILL.md` compatible.
</Note>

Agent Companies lets you describe a company, its teams, agents, projects, tasks, and reusable skills as markdown packages that can live in a local folder or GitHub repository.

## Why Agent Companies?

Agents can execute tasks well, but company-scale work also needs structure, delegation, governance, and shared operating context.
Agent Companies extends [Agent Skills](https://agentskills.io) with a portable way to describe who exists, how work flows, and which capabilities should activate across an entire agent-driven organization.

**For package authors**: Define company operating structure once and reuse it across compatible runtimes.

**For compatible runtimes**: Load organization context, task definitions, and reusable skills in a portable format.

**For teams and enterprises**: Keep operating logic in version-controlled markdown that can be reviewed, diffed, and shared.

## What can Agent Companies enable?

* **Reusable company operating systems**: Package company structure, team topology, and reusable role behavior in one portable layout.
* **Faster onboarding**: Point a runtime at a repo or folder and discover company manifests, skills, and starter work without manual setup.
* **Repeatable governance**: Keep approvals, policies, and task scaffolding in auditable files rather than hidden prompt state.
* **Organizational evals**: Test whether a company structure, workflow, or skill set actually produces the behaviors you want.
* **Interoperability**: Reuse `SKILL.md` and company manifests across any implementation that adopts the extension protocol.

## Adoption

Agent Companies is an open extension protocol.

[Paperclip](https://paperclip.ing) currently implements the company package model and import/export plan, but the base format is designed for any agent-company runtime that wants markdown-first, GitHub-native portability.

## Open development

The protocol grows out of the Agent Skills ecosystem and the current Paperclip company import/export work.
`SKILL.md` remains owned by the Agent Skills specification.
Agent Companies adds company, team, agent, project, and task composition around that existing primitive.

## Get started

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="What are Agent Companies?" icon="lightbulb" href="/what-are-agent-companies">
    Learn the package model, file roles, and how progressive disclosure still
    applies.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Specification" icon="file-code" href="/specification">
    Read the vendor-neutral draft for `COMPANY.md`, `TEAM.md`, `AGENTS.md`,
    `PROJECT.md`, and `TASK.md`.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Add support" icon="gear" href="/client-implementation/adding-skills-support">
    Build Agent Companies support into your own agent runtime or tool.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Agent Skills" icon="code" href="https://agentskills.io/home">
    See the base protocol that Agent Companies extends.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Paperclip implementation" icon="wrench" href="https://github.com/paperclip-ai/paperclip">
    Explore the current reference implementation and related product plans.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>