Claude Code Rules

Generic, reusable rules and skills for Claude Code. Designed to work as a git submodule across projects.

The Problem

Every file in .claude/rules/ loads into every conversation. Most Claude Code setups accumulate rules over time — detailed guides, code examples, configuration templates — burning context on content that's irrelevant to the current task.

This project keeps always-loaded rules to 276 lines of non-negotiable standards. Detailed guides live as on-demand skills that load only when you need them.

Read the full story: From 55 Rules to 6 Rules + 10 Skills

Quick Start

As a git submodule (recommended)

# Add to your project
git submodule add https://github.com/sahin/ai-rules.git .claude/ai-rules

# Symlink rules and commands into place
ln -s ai-rules/.claude/rules .claude/rules
ln -s ai-rules/.claude/commands .claude/commands

Direct copy

git clone https://github.com/sahin/ai-rules.git
cp -r ai-rules/.claude/rules /your/project/.claude/rules/
cp -r ai-rules/.claude/commands /your/project/.claude/commands/

What's Included

Always-Loaded Rules (276 lines)

These load into every conversation — short, declarative standards with no code examples:

File	Covers
coding-standards.md	File naming, size limits, imports, error handling, TypeScript, anti-patterns
testing-requirements.md	Coverage targets, test pyramid, AAA pattern, before-delivery checklist
api-security-standards.md	REST design, HTTP status codes, input validation, auth, OWASP top 10
database-standards.md	Naming, required columns, constraints, migrations, query performance
git-standards.md	Branch naming, conventional commits, PR guidelines
project-standards.md	File organization, docs placement, frontend requirements, env config

On-Demand Skills (2,248 lines)

Zero context cost until invoked with /command:

Command	Lines	What's Inside
/test	274	Unit, integration, E2E, Playwright, coverage, CI/CD
/api	196	REST patterns, pagination, versioning, monitoring
/db	225	Migrations, indexes, query optimization, rollback
/frontend	296	Components, responsive design, a11y, performance budgets
/deploy	261	CI/CD pipeline, strategies, health checks, logging
/review	162	Code review checklist, PR requirements, feedback
/adr	145	Architecture Decision Records: template, lifecycle, examples
/perf	221	Response targets, caching, load testing with k6
/refactor	219	Patterns, process, dependency evaluation
/security	249	OWASP checklist, incident response, SAST/DAST

Design Principles

• Rules = what (short, declarative standards) / Skills = how (detailed guides with examples)
• 276 lines always-loaded instead of 20,000 — leaves context for your actual code
• No phantom infrastructure — every path referenced exists, every feature described works
• No project-specific content — generic rules usable by any codebase
• Platform-native features preferred — plan mode and TodoWrite over custom enforcement

Project-Specific Rules

This repo contains only generic standards. Project-specific rules belong in the consuming project's own .claude/rules/ directory, not here.

Connect

License

MIT