Project Rules

You might say

I keep reminding the AI to use TypeScript and our existing styles. Can these requirements live in project rules?

Project rules are collaboration instructions stored with a project to guide an AI toward the team's conventions.For example, a team can record its stack, code style, validation steps, and operating boundaries in AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, or another file supported by the tool. Whether it is loaded, which directories it covers, and its precedence are product-specific. Rules reduce repetition but do not guarantee compliance or replace permissions and tests.

Project InstructionsAgent InstructionsAGENTS.mdCLAUDE.md

How do project rules affect an agent's code generation?

Project repository

Where the code, folders, and task live

reads by scope

AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md

States rules for the applicable scope

shapes actions

Agent behavior

Follows the rules while reading, editing, and verifying

Project rules tell an agent how to work in a directory; they are not permanent memory inside the model.

What do project rules control?

Preserve project conventions: Rules can describe the stack, naming, code style, and risky actions that require confirmation.

Become part of the context: After reading the rules, the tool gives them to the model for matching tasks instead of repeating them every time.

Share rules without sharing secrets: Team rules are usually committed with the project; real keys and personal paths do not belong in them.

Quick checkChoose the best answer

The AI keeps generating code outside the team's stack. What is the most direct fix?

Put the stack, code style, and risky-action approval rules in project instructionsPut code style rules in the client config that only controls the Provider and portOnly add compiler or linter checks and they will tell the AI how to write code before generation

You can say this to an AI Agent

Read the project rules before editing the button component. Follow the existing stack, do not use any, and ask before delete or reset commands. Run the project's existing checks after editing.

Learn next

1Configuration File→2Skill→3Permission Mode→

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