Rules Generator

Rules Generator Skill

Auto-generate .claude/rules/ documentation for any codebase.

When to Activate

• No .claude/rules/ directory exists in the current project
• User asks about codebase structure or architecture
• User asks "what does this project do"
• Starting work on an unfamiliar codebase
• User explicitly asks to generate rules

Actions

1. Load rulebook: Read rules-templates/claudemd-4-7-rulebook.md (vendored into CDF) as the authoritative reference for rule framing (positive imperatives, explicit scope, why-statements, neutral tone). Falls back to the embedded principles in this file only if the rulebook is missing.

1. Explore codebase using the Explore agent to understand:

• Directory structure and key files
• Tech stack (languages, frameworks, libraries)
• Architectural patterns and conventions
• Build/test/run commands

1. Generate .claude/rules/ files with YAML frontmatter on every file:

• architecture.md — Directory structure, key files, component relationships, data flow. Frontmatter: description: only (loads broadly).
• tech-stack.md — Languages, frameworks, libraries with purposes. Frontmatter: description: only.
• patterns.md — Architectural patterns, code conventions, error handling. Frontmatter: description: + paths: scoped to source dirs (e.g. ["src/**", "lib/**"]).
• commands.md — Setup, build, test, lint, run commands. Frontmatter: description: only.
• Project-type files (api-conventions.md, component-conventions.md, etc.) — Always include paths: scoped to the relevant directory glob so they only load when matching files are touched.

1. Frame rules as positive imperatives, with explicit scope and the why where non-obvious. Example: "Apply to every API route, including admin routes. Reason: centralized auth check." Avoid CAPS, MUST, CRITICAL, "ANY", "ALWAYS".

1. Confirm completion with a summary listing each generated file, its line count, and whether it is path-scoped or always-loaded.

File Format

Every rule file uses YAML frontmatter:

---
description: One-line summary of what this file covers
paths: ["src/api/**/*.py", "src/middleware/**"]   # optional — omit to always-load
---
# API Route Rules

- Every endpoint validates input via the `@validate_input` decorator. Reason: centralized request schema enforcement.
- API errors return the standard `{error, code, details}` shape. Reason: client-side error parser depends on it.

Rules without paths: load every session. Use paths: for any topic that only applies when specific files are touched — this saves context across sessions that do not touch those files.

Related Commands

• /cdf:rules generate - Manually refresh all rules
• /cdf:docs plan - Create task documentation structure

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: drag88
• Source: drag88/claude-dev-framework
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.