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Rules & Standards

Production-tested best practices loaded into every session.

Rules are loaded automatically at session start. They're not suggestions — they're enforced standards. Coding standards load conditionally based on the file type being edited, keeping context lean. Your project-level rules in .claude/rules/ are loaded alongside Pilot's built-ins and take precedence when they overlap.

Built-in Rule Categories​

Core Workflow (3 rules)​

  • task-and-workflow.md — Task management, /spec orchestration, deviation handling
  • testing.md — TDD workflow, test strategy, coverage requirements (≥80%)
  • verification.md — Execution verification, completion requirements

Development Practices (3 rules)​

  • development-practices.md — Project policies, systematic debugging, git rules
  • context-management.md — Auto-compaction and context preservation
  • pilot-memory.md — Online learning triggers

Tools (4 rules)​

  • research-tools.md — Search priority and tool selection guide
  • cli-tools.md — Pilot CLI, Probe code search, RTK token optimization
  • mcp-servers.md — MCP server reference including codebase-memory-mcp (code knowledge graph)
  • playwright-cli.md — Browser automation for E2E UI testing

Collaboration (1 rule)​

  • skill-sharing.md — Skillshare CLI and three-tier sharing model

Coding Standards — Activated by File Type​

StandardActivates OnCoverage
Python*.pyuv, pytest, ruff, basedpyright, type hints
TypeScript*.ts, *.tsx, *.js, *.jsxnpm/pnpm, Jest, ESLint, Prettier, React patterns
Go*.goModules, testing, formatting, error handling
Frontend*.tsx, *.jsx, *.html, *.vue, *.cssComponents, CSS, accessibility, responsive design
Backend**/models/**, **/routes/**, **/api/**API design, data models, query optimization, migrations
Custom rules

Create .claude/rules/my-rule.md in your project. Add paths: ["*.py"] frontmatter to activate only for specific file types. Run /sync to auto-discover patterns and generate project-specific rules for you.

Monorepo support

Organize rules in nested subdirectories by product and team (e.g. .claude/rules/my-product/team-x/). Team-level rules must use paths frontmatter to scope to the right files. /sync generates a README.md in your rules directory to document the structure.