AI Factory Rules - Project Conventions
Add short, actionable rules and conventions for the current project. Rules are saved to the configured RULES.md artifact (default: .ai-factory/RULES.md) and automatically loaded by /aif-implement before task execution.
Rules Hierarchy
AI Factory supports a three-level rules hierarchy:
- RULES.md - Axioms (universal project rules)
- Managed by this skill (/aif-rules) - Short, flat list of hard requirements - Loaded by all skills
- rules/base.md - Project-specific base conventions
- Created by /aif during project setup - Naming conventions, module boundaries, error handling patterns - Auto-detected from codebase analysis
- rules. - Area-specific conventions
- Created by this skill (Mode C) - Registered in .ai-factory/config.yaml as named keys such as rules.api - Area-specific patterns and constraints
Priority: More specific rules win. rules.<area> > rules/base.md > RULES.md
Workflow
Step 0: Load Config
FIRST: Read .ai-factory/config.yaml if it exists to resolve:
- Paths:
paths.rules_fileandpaths.rules - Language:
language.uifor prompts
If config.yaml doesn't exist, use defaults:
- RULES.md:
.ai-factory/RULES.md - rules/:
.ai-factory/rules/ - Language:
en(English)
Step 0.1: Load Skill Context
Read .ai-factory/skill-context/aif-rules/SKILL.md - MANDATORY if the file exists.
This file contains project-specific rules accumulated by /aif-evolve from patches, codebase conventions, and tech-stack analysis. These rules are tailored to the current project.
How to apply skill-context rules:
- Treat them as project-level overrides for this skill's general instructions
- When a skill-context rule conflicts with a general rule written in this SKILL.md, the skill-context rule wins (more specific context takes priority - same principle as nested CLAUDE.md files)
- When there is no conflict, apply both: general rules from SKILL.md + project rules from skill-context
- Do NOT ignore skill-context rules even if they seem to contradict this skill's defaults - they exist because the project's experience proved the default insufficient
- CRITICAL: skill-context rules apply to ALL outputs of this skill - including the RULES.md format and rule formulation. If a skill-context rule says "rules MUST follow format X" or "RULES.md MUST include section Y" - you MUST comply. Generating rules that violate skill-context is a bug.
Enforcement: After generating any output artifact, verify it against all skill-context rules. If any rule is violated - fix the output before presenting it to the user.
Step 1: Determine Mode
Check $ARGUMENTS:
- Starts with "area:" or "area "? -> Mode C: Area rules
- Has text? -> Mode A: Direct add
- No arguments? -> Mode B: InteractiveMode A: Direct Add
User provided rule text as argument:
/aif-rules Always use DTO classes instead of arraysSkip to Step 2 with the provided text as the rule.
Mode B: Interactive
No arguments provided:
/aif-rulesAsk via AskUserQuestion:
What rule or convention would you like to add?
Examples:
- Always use DTO classes instead of arrays for data transfer
- Routes must use kebab-case
- All database queries go through repository classes
- Never use raw SQL, always use the query builder
- Log every external API call with request/responseMode C: Area Rules
User wants to create or update area-specific rules:
/aif-rules area:api
/aif-rules area frontendWorkflow:
- Parse area name from argument (e.g.,
api,frontend,backend,database) - Resolve the area file path inside the configured rules directory. Default:
.ai-factory/rules/<area>.md - Check if area file exists:
Glob: <resolved rules dir>/<area>.md - If file does NOT exist -> create it with header:
# <Area> Rules > Area-specific conventions for <area>. Loaded after rules/base.md. ## Rules - [first rule] - If file exists -> ask user what rule to add:
AskUserQuestion: What rule would you like to add to <area>.md? Current rules in <area>.md: - [existing rule 1] - [existing rule 2] Options: 1. Add new rule - specify below 2. View full file 3. Cancel - Append rule using
Editat the end of the## Rulessection. - Register the area in
.ai-factory/config.yaml:
- Ensure rules.<area> points to the resolved area rules file path - If config.yaml does not exist yet, create a minimal config scaffold using defaults plus the new rules.<area> entry - Preserve existing rules.base and any other named rules.<other-area> entries
- Confirm: `
Rule added to <resolved area rules file> and registered asrules.<area>in config.yaml: - [the rule] Total <area> rules: [count]` - STOP after Mode C completes.
- Do not continue to Step 2 / Step 3 / Step 4 below. - Those steps apply only to top-level axioms rules in the resolved paths.rules_file artifact. - Area rules belong only in <resolved rules dir>/<area>.md plus the matching rules.<area> registration in config.yaml.
Common areas:
api- REST/GraphQL API conventionsfrontend- UI components, state managementbackend- Services, business logicdatabase- Queries, migrations, schemastesting- Test patterns, coveragesecurity- Auth, validation, sanitization
Step 2: Read or Create RULES.md
Check if the resolved RULES.md path exists:
Glob: <resolved RULES.md path>If file does NOT exist -> create it with the header and first rule:
# Project Rules
> Short, actionable rules and conventions for this project. Loaded automatically by /aif-implement.
## Rules
- [new rule here]If file exists -> read it, then append the new rule at the end of the rules list.
Step 3: Write Rule
Use Edit to append the new rule as a - list item at the end of the ## Rules section.
Formatting rules:
- Each rule is a single
-line - Keep rules short and actionable (one sentence)
- No categories, headers, or sub-lists - flat list only
- No duplicates - if rule already exists (same meaning), tell user and skip
- If user provides multiple rules at once (separated by newlines or semicolons), add each as a separate line
Step 4: Confirm
Rule added to <resolved RULES.md path>:
- [the rule]
Total rules: [count]Rules
- One rule per line - flat list, no nesting
- No categories - keep it simple, no headers inside the rules section
- No duplicates - check for existing rules with the same meaning before adding
- Actionable language - rules should be clear directives ("Always...", "Never...", "Use...", "Routes must...")
- RULES.md location - use the resolved
paths.rules_filepath (default:.ai-factory/RULES.md) - Area registration - every area rules file must be mirrored in
config.yamlasrules.<area> - Ownership boundary - this command owns the configured RULES.md artifact and may update the
rules.*subset of.ai-factory/config.yaml; other context artifacts stay read-only unless explicitly requested by the user