Rules

LingXiao supports project-level rule files that inject engineering constraints into Agent context. Rules are Markdown files automatically injected into the Agent context without manual referencing.

Rule File Locations

Level	Directory	Description
Project	`.lingxiao/rules/`	Project-specific rules
User	`~/.lingxiao/rules/`	Global user rules

Rule Format

Rule files are Markdown format, auto-injected into the Agent context:

# Code Standards

- Use TypeScript strict mode
- Functions must have explicit return type annotations
- No use of any type
- All public APIs must have JSDoc comments

Rule Priority

project > global. Project-level rules override user-level rules.

Rule Injection

Rule files are automatically read and injected into the system prompt at Agent startup. Unlike Skills, rules do not require explicit references (no $skill syntax); all rule file contents are injected.

Injection Scope

Scope	Behavior
Project rules	Visible only to Agents in the current workspace
User rules	Visible to all Agents

Common Rule Examples

Code Standards Rules

# Code Standards

- TypeScript strict mode
- Use ESM imports (no require)
- Functions must have explicit return type annotations
- No @ts-ignore
- Public functions require JSDoc comments

Git Rules

# Git Standards

- Commit messages use conventional commits format
- feat: new feature / fix: bugfix / docs: docs / refactor: refactor
- Each commit contains only one logical change
- PR title matches commit title

Testing Rules

# Testing Standards

- New features must include unit tests
- Test coverage must be at least 80%
- Use describe/it to organize test structure
- Mock external dependencies, not the module under test

Security Rules

# Security Standards

- No hardcoded API keys or passwords
- Environment variables must be read through config.ts
- SQL queries must use parameterized statements
- User input must be validated and escaped

Differences from Skills

Feature	Rules	Skills
Injection	Automatic	On-demand (`$skill` or role binding)
Content	Constraints and standards	Procedures and domain knowledge
Format	Plain Markdown	YAML frontmatter + Markdown
Location	`.lingxiao/rules/`	`.lingxiao/skills/`
Priority	project > global	4-tier (project > plugin > user > bundled)