AI Factory Rules - Project Conventions

Add short, actionable rules and conventions for the current project. Rules are saved to .ai-factory/RULES.md and automatically loaded by /aif-implement before task execution.

Workflow

Step 0: 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:
├── Has text? → Mode A: Direct add
└── No arguments? → Mode B: Interactive

Mode A: Direct Add

User provided rule text as argument:

/aif-rules Always use DTO classes instead of arrays

→ Skip to Step 2 with the provided text as the rule.

Mode B: Interactive

No arguments provided:

/aif-rules

→ Ask 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/response

> ___

Step 2: Read or Create RULES.md

Check if .ai-factory/RULES.md exists:

Glob: .ai-factory/RULES.md

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 .ai-factory/RULES.md:

- [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 — always .ai-factory/RULES.md, create .ai-factory/ directory if needed
Ownership boundary — this command owns .ai-factory/RULES.md; other context artifacts stay read-only unless explicitly requested by the user