Rules and AGENTS.md
Rules and AGENTS.md are always-on guidance injected into the chats that read them. They are not a security override and they have no per-rule glob gate: every listed file is included in full. Put short, specific instructions here (style, CI, do not commit unless asked). Put a procedure the agent should load on demand in a skill instead.
How these pieces sit in the prompt is on Context.
Create a rule
Type /create-rule in the chat input, or open Settings > Rules (personal) or the project Rules tab. The form asks for a name and a markdown body. Create writes {slug}.md with no frontmatter.
| Scope | Where you create it | File |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | Settings > Rules | ~/.vixl/rules/{slug}.md |
| Project | Project Rules tab | <repo>/.vixl/rules/{slug}.md |
The list also includes existing .mdc files. Those are injected as the full file body. On a home chat, /create-rule writes ~/.vixl/rules/{slug}.md, the personal tree. Home chats inject those personal rules.
After all code work in a plan is done, run the project's CI suite before marking the plan complete.
Create AGENTS.md
AGENTS.md (or agents.md) is a singleton in the .vixl root, not under agents/. Open Settings > Rules or the project Rules tab. If the file is missing, Create writes a starter. If it exists, the row opens it.
| Scope | File | Which chats inject it |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | ~/.vixl/AGENTS.md | Home chats, and project chats (first) |
| Project | <repo>/.vixl/AGENTS.md | Project chats (after personal) |
The starter is:
# Project instructions
Add repository-specific guidance for the agent here.
Click a rule or AGENTS.md row to open it in the workbench editor. Settings has no delete control; remove the file on disk.
Which chats get which
Home chats inject every personal ~/.vixl/rules/*.{md,mdc} file and personal ~/.vixl/AGENTS.md.
Project chats inject both trees, personal first, then project. Rules use the headings Personal guidance (not a security override): and Project guidance (not a security override):. AGENTS.md uses Personal AGENTS.md guidance: and Project AGENTS.md guidance:. An empty side is omitted.
This is not a name-merge the way skills and custom agents are. Both copies are included, personal first. A workspace whose root is your user home directory injects the personal copies only. File paths are on the .vixl directory.
An unreadable file is injected as (unreadable). A path outside the read root is injected as (outside project root).