blueprint-rules

Manage modular rules for the project. Rules are markdown files in .claude/rules/ that provide context-specific instructions to Claude.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...	Use alternative when...
Need to create/edit modular rules in .claude/rules/	Use /blueprint:claude-md for single-file project instructions
Want to list all project and user-level rules	Use /blueprint:generate-rules to auto-generate from PRDs
Need to add path-specific rules for certain file types	Just need to view CLAUDE.md structure
Managing user-level rules (~/.claude/rules/)	Need to sync rules with existing CLAUDE.md

Rules Hierarchy (precedence low → high)

Level	Location	Scope
User-level	~/.claude/rules/*.md	Personal rules across all projects
Project rules	.claude/rules/*.md (no paths)	All files in this project
Path-specific rules	.claude/rules/*.md (with paths)	Only matched files

Project rules override user-level rules. Path-specific rules load conditionally when working on matching files.

Steps:

1. Check blueprint status:

   • Read docs/blueprint/manifest.json
   • Check if modular rules are enabled
   • If not enabled, offer to enable:

     Use AskUserQuestion:
     question: "Modular rules are not enabled. Would you like to enable them?"
     options:
       - "Yes, create .claude/rules/ structure" → enable and continue
       - "No, use single CLAUDE.md" → exit
     

2. Determine action (use AskUserQuestion):

   question: "What would you like to do with modular rules?"
   options:
     - "List existing rules" → show project and user-level rules
     - "Add a new rule" → create new rule file
     - "Edit existing rule" → modify rule
     - "Generate rules from PRDs" → auto-generate from requirements
     - "Manage user-level rules" → personal rules in ~/.claude/rules/
     - "Sync rules with CLAUDE.md" → bidirectional sync
     - "Validate rules" → check for issues
   

3. List existing rules:

   • Scan .claude/rules/ recursively for .md files
   • Scan ~/.claude/rules/ for user-level rules
   • Parse frontmatter for paths field (if scoped)
   • Display:

     📜 Modular Rules
     
     User-Level Rules (~/.claude/rules/ — personal, all projects):
     - preferences.md - Personal coding style
     - workflow.md - Personal workflow habits
     
     Project Global Rules (apply to all files):
     - development.md - TDD workflow and conventions
     - testing.md - Test requirements
     
     Path-Specific Rules (apply to specific paths):
     - frontend/react.md - paths: ["src/components/**/*.{ts,tsx}"]
     - backend/api.md - paths: ["src/api/**/*.ts"]
     
     Total: 6 rules (2 user-level, 2 global, 2 path-specific)
     

4. Add a new rule (use AskUserQuestion):

   question: "What type of rule would you like to create?"
   options:
     - "Development workflow" → development.md template
     - "Testing requirements" → testing.md template
     - "Code style/conventions" → code-style.md template
     - "Architecture patterns" → architecture.md template
     - "Language-specific" → prompt for language
     - "Framework-specific" → prompt for framework
     - "Custom" → blank template with guidance
   

   Then ask:

   question: "Should this rule apply to all files or specific paths?"
   options:
     - "All files (global)" → no paths frontmatter
     - "Specific file patterns" → prompt for glob patterns
   

5. Rule file templates:

   Global rule template:

   # {Rule Name}
   
   ## Overview
   {Brief description of when this rule applies}
   
   ## Requirements
   - {Requirement 1}
   - {Requirement 2}
   
   ## Examples
   {Code examples if applicable}
   

   Scoped rule template (with paths frontmatter):

   ---
   paths:
     - "src/components/**/*.{ts,tsx}"
   ---
   
   # {Rule Name}
   
   ## Overview
   {Brief description - applies only to matched paths}
   
   ## Requirements
   - {Requirement 1}
   - {Requirement 2}
   

   Brace expansion is supported: *.{ts,tsx} matches both .ts and .tsx files. Glob patterns follow standard syntax: ** for recursive, * for single level.

6. Generate rules from PRDs:

   • Read all PRDs in docs/prds/
   • Extract key requirements and constraints
   • Group by domain (testing, architecture, coding standards)
   • Generate rule files:
     • rules/from-prd-testing.md - Test requirements from PRDs
     • rules/from-prd-architecture.md - Architecture decisions
     • rules/from-prd-conventions.md - Coding conventions

7. Sync rules with CLAUDE.md:

   • Parse existing CLAUDE.md sections
   • Compare with rules in .claude/rules/
   • Offer sync options:

     question: "How would you like to sync?"
     options:
       - "CLAUDE.md → rules (split into modular files)"
       - "Rules → CLAUDE.md (consolidate)"
       - "Merge both (combine unique content)"
     

8. Validate rules:

   • Check for syntax errors in frontmatter
   • Validate glob patterns in paths field
   • Check for conflicting rules
   • Warn about overly broad or narrow scopes
   • Report:

     ✅ Rule Validation
     
     Checked: 4 rules
     Valid: 4
     Warnings: 1
       - frontend/react.md: paths pattern may be too broad
     
     No errors found.
     

9. Update manifest:

   • Add created/modified rules to generated_artifacts.rules
   • Update updated_at timestamp

10. Report:

    ✅ Rule management complete!
    
    {Action summary}
    
    Current rules: {count} files
    - Global: {count}
    - Scoped: {count}
    
    Run `/blueprint-status` to see full configuration.
    

11. Prompt for next action (use AskUserQuestion):

    question: "Rules updated. What would you like to do next?"
    options:
      - label: "Update CLAUDE.md (Recommended)"
        description: "Regenerate overview to reflect rule changes"
      - label: "Add another rule"
        description: "Create additional domain-specific rules"
      - label: "Check blueprint status"
        description: "Run /blueprint:status to see full configuration"
      - label: "I'm done for now"
        description: "Exit - rules are active immediately"
    

    Based on selection:

    • "Update CLAUDE.md" → Run /blueprint:claude-md
    • "Add another rule" → Restart at step 4 (Add a new rule)
    • "Check blueprint status" → Run /blueprint:status
    • "I'm done" → Exit

Common Rule Patterns:

Rule Type	Suggested Path	Scope Pattern
React components	rules/frontend/react.md	["**/*.{tsx,jsx}"]
API handlers	rules/backend/api.md	["src/{api,routes}/**/*"]
Database models	rules/backend/models.md	["src/{models,db}/**/*"]
Test files	rules/testing.md	["**/*.{test,spec}.*"]
Documentation	rules/docs.md	["**/*.md", "docs/**/*"]
Config files	rules/config.md	["*.config.{js,ts,mjs}", ".env*"]