What is a product brief?

A short document that says what a product is, which problem it solves, for whom, and what it deliberately leaves out. It gives everyone who works on the product, people and agents, the same starting point.

How is a product brief different from a PRD?

The brief covers the whole product on one page. A product requirements document goes deep on one feature or release and describes exactly how it must behave. Start with the brief; write PRDs when a feature needs that detail.

Can an AI coding agent use this brief?

Yes. Save the Markdown file in your repository and reference it from AGENTS.md or import it in CLAUDE.md. AGENTS.md is plain Markdown, and Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md at the start of every session.

Why Markdown and JSON?

Markdown is easy to read for people and agents and renders on every code host. JSON has the same content with fixed English keys, so scripts and forms can read it without parsing prose.

Is my brief stored or sent anywhere?

It is stored only in your browser’s local storage so a reload does not lose it. Nothing is uploaded or sent to analytics, and Clear deletes the draft.

Product brief template: free, Markdown and JSON

By Aleksandar Vuk JovanovicUpdated September 30, 2026How we research and update

Fill in the brief

Type straight into the fields. The Markdown and JSON below update as you type and are ready to copy or download.

Your draft is kept in this browser’s local storage so it survives a reload. It is never uploaded. Clear removes it.

Markdown preview

# [Product name]

> [What it does, for whom, in one line]

Last updated: [date]

## Problem

[Who struggles with what today]

## Who it is for

[Primary users and buyers]

## What it does

[How the product solves the problem]

## Key capabilities

- [Up to three things it does today]

## Instead of

[What people use today and why this is better]

## Not in scope

[What it deliberately does not do]

## How we know it works

[One signal you can check]

## Link

[Website or repository URL]

JSON preview

{
  "format": "product-brief",
  "version": 1,
  "language": "en",
  "updated": "",
  "name": "",
  "oneLiner": "",
  "problem": "",
  "audience": "",
  "solution": "",
  "features": [
    "",
    "",
    ""
  ],
  "alternative": "",
  "nonGoals": "",
  "success": "",
  "url": ""
}

Blank files

Prefer your own editor? Take the empty template in either format.

What each field is for

Ten fields are enough to align people and agents on what you build. Each one answers a question someone would otherwise ask you.

Product name: Everyone, including an agent, should write the name the same way. Spell it once here.
One-liner: The line you will reuse in listings, bios and your homepage. If you cannot write it, the product is not clear yet.
Problem: Work starts from the problem, not the feature. A clear problem lets others propose better solutions than yours.
Who it is for: A narrow audience makes every later choice easier: wording, features, where to launch.
What it does: How the product solves the problem, in plain words. This is what a newcomer needs first.
Key capabilities: Three capabilities that exist today. An agent that writes copy should never invent a fourth.
Instead of: People compare with what they do now. Naming the workaround explains your value better than a feature table.
Not in scope: The field most briefs skip. It stops scope creep and keeps an agent from adding features you did not ask for.
How we know it works: One observable signal tells you whether the product works, and gives an agent a target to check against.
Link: A link lets a reader or an agent verify details instead of guessing them.

Check your tagline against every platform’s character limit →

Give the brief to your agent

Coding agents read Markdown files from your repository. A short brief next to your code gives them the product context that code alone does not contain.

Download the Markdown file and save it in your repository, for example as docs/product-brief.md.
Point your agent at it: add a line to AGENTS.md, or import it in CLAUDE.md with @docs/product-brief.md.
For GitHub Copilot, link or copy the essentials into .github/copilot-instructions.md.
Keep the JSON next to it when a script or another tool should read the same facts.
Change the date line whenever something changes, and delete sentences that are no longer true.

Topic	Official wording	What it means for your brief
Format	AGENTS.md is just standard Markdown.	A plain Markdown brief works as agent context without any special syntax.
Headings	Use any headings you like; the agent simply parses the text you provide.	The section names in this template are a suggestion. Rename them if your team uses other words.
When it is read	You write these files in plain text; Claude reads them at the start of every session.	Claude Code loads CLAUDE.md at the start of every session, so an imported brief is always in context.
Import	CLAUDE.md files can import additional files using @path/to/import syntax.	One line such as @docs/product-brief.md in CLAUDE.md is enough to include the brief.
Length	target under 200 lines per CLAUDE.md file. Longer files consume more context and reduce adherence.	Short context is followed better. A one-page brief stays far below this size.
Copilot	Add natural language instructions to the file, in Markdown format.	Copilot instructions are Markdown too, so the same text fits there.
JSON encoding	JSON text exchanged between systems that are not part of a closed ecosystem MUST be encoded using UTF-8	The JSON download is UTF-8, so accents, CJK characters and emoji survive any tool.

Brief, PRD or context file

Three documents that are often confused. They answer different questions, and many products need more than one.

Document	Answers	Length	Written by
Product brief (this template)	What we build, for whom, and where it stops	One page, ten fields	Founder or product lead
Product requirements document	Exactly how one feature or release must behave	Several pages per feature	Product manager with engineering
Product context file	Which approved facts and copy an agent may publish	Grows with each channel	Whoever runs the launch

Launch plan template →

What this template leaves out

It is a starting point, not a full specification. Detailed requirements, designs and research live in their own documents.
Pricing, launch dates and marketing copy variants are deliberately not part of it.
The page does not check whether your statements are true. Write down only what the product does today.
Nothing is sent anywhere: the draft stays in this browser until you press Clear.

Sources

We read these pages on September 30, 2026 and quote them word for word above.

Page	Date on the page	Checked by us
AGENTS.md	no date given	Sep 30, 2026
Claude Code Docs: How Claude remembers your project	no date given	Sep 30, 2026
GitHub Docs: Adding repository custom instructions for GitHub Copilot	no date given	Sep 30, 2026
RFC 8259: The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data Interchange Format (December 2017)	no date given	Sep 30, 2026
CommonMark Spec, version 0.31.2	no date given	Sep 30, 2026

FAQ

What is a product brief?: A short document that says what a product is, which problem it solves, for whom, and what it deliberately leaves out. It gives everyone who works on the product, people and agents, the same starting point.
How is a product brief different from a PRD?: The brief covers the whole product on one page. A product requirements document goes deep on one feature or release and describes exactly how it must behave. Start with the brief; write PRDs when a feature needs that detail.
Can an AI coding agent use this brief?: Yes. Save the Markdown file in your repository and reference it from AGENTS.md or import it in CLAUDE.md. AGENTS.md is plain Markdown, and Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md at the start of every session.
Why Markdown and JSON?: Markdown is easy to read for people and agents and renders on every code host. JSON has the same content with fixed English keys, so scripts and forms can read it without parsing prose.
Is my brief stored or sent anywhere?: It is stored only in your browser’s local storage so a reload does not lose it. Nothing is uploaded or sent to analytics, and Clear deletes the draft.

Brief done? Get the product in front of people.

LaunchRepo gives your coding agent a playbook for each launch platform and directory, so the product you just described gets listed where your audience looks, and tracks which listings went live.

See pricing