AGENTS.md - Box Node SDK Quick Start Guide for AI Agents

This repository contains AGENTS.md, a comprehensive guide designed to help AI coding agents (like Claude, Cursor AI, GitHub Copilot, etc.) assist developers in building applications with Box Node SDK v10+.

What is AGENTS.md?

AGENTS.md is a structured reference document that provides AI agents with:

• Quick Start instructions - Get developers productive in 4 steps
• Best practices - Avoid common pitfalls with Box Node SDK v10+
• Authentication patterns - Developer Token, JWT, CCG examples
• Common operations - Upload, download, search, pagination
• Error handling - Box API status codes and how to handle them
• Service Account guidance - Critical collaboration setup
• Security requirements - What to never commit, token lifecycle
• Safety guidelines - When to ask before executing commands
• Project navigation - Where to find authentication, file operations, config

Target Audience

Primary: AI coding agents (Claude, Cursor, Copilot, etc.) helping developers

Secondary: Developers who want to understand what guidance their AI assistant is following

How AI Agents Use This Guide

When an AI agent is helping with Box SDK development, it references AGENTS.md to:

1. Recommend correct syntax - Use v10+ async/await, not v3 callbacks
2. Prevent common errors - Service Account collaboration issues, expired tokens
3. Suggest secure patterns - Environment variables, never hardcoded secrets
4. Navigate codebases efficiently - Know where to find auth, file operations, config
5. Ask when appropriate - Recognize when to request developer input vs. proceeding

Key Topics Covered

Quick Start (4 Steps)

Getting from zero to working Box SDK app in minutes

Authentication Methods

• Developer Token (testing, 60min expiry)
• JWT (production, Service Account)
• CCG (production, Client Credentials Grant)

Service Account & Collaboration

Critical concept: Service Account needs explicit collaboration to access existing content

Common Operations

Code examples for upload, download, folder creation, search, pagination

Error Handling

How to handle 401, 403, 404, 409, 429, 500/503 status codes

Security & Safety

What to protect, when agents should ask permission vs. proceed

Using This Repository

To use AGENTS.md:

• Copy it to your own Box SDK project
• Reference it when working with AI coding assistants
• Customize it for your specific project needs
• Use it as a template for creating similar agent guides

Integration with Cursor IDE

This guide follows the Cursor IDE convention where AGENTS.md in the workspace root is automatically loaded as context for AI agents. If you use Cursor:

1. Copy AGENTS.md to your project root
2. The Cursor AI agent will automatically reference it
3. Get accurate Box SDK v10+ guidance without extra prompting

License

ISC

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Version: 1.0 | SDK Version: v10+ | Last Updated: Feb 2026