Creating & Modifying Rules

Enforce Coding Standards with Rules

Rules in Windsurf help maintain consistent code style and project-specific conventions by providing guidelines for Cascade.

Accessing and Creating Rules:

• • Panel: Open the "Customizations" panel (look for the open book icon).
• • Global Rules: Apply to all projects.
  1. 1. Click the "Global" button.
  2. 2. Write your rule (e.g., "Use Tailwind classes. Do not write raw CSS.").
• • Workspace Rules: Specific to the current project.
  1. 1. Click "Add Workspace".
  2. 2. Name the rule file (e.g., python_style_guide.md).
  3. 3. Write your rule (e.g., "Replace argparse with typer.").

Rule Activation Modes:

1. 1. Manual: Type @rule-name in Cascade to activate.
2. 2. Always On: The rule applies to every Cascade action.
3. 3. Model Decision: Cascade decides if the rule is relevant by reading its description.
4. 4. Glob: Triggers if a file path matches a regex pattern (e.g., *.py for Python files).

Best Practices for Writing Rules:

• • Be Short & Specific: Make rules easy for Cascade to understand and apply.
• • Avoid Generic Advice: Focus on instructions Cascade doesn't inherently know.
• • Group Guidelines: If needed, use simple XML-style tags for related instructions (e.g., <python_guidelines>...</python_guidelines>).
• • Storage: Rules are plain markdown files.

Character Limits:

• • Single Rule File: Maximum 6,000 characters.
• • Total (All Global + Workspace Rules): Maximum 12,000 characters. If exceeded, Cascade prioritizes global rules, then fits as many workspace rules as possible.

Managing Your Rules:

Since rules are stored as markdown files, you can easily:

• • Commit them to version control.
• • Share them with teammates.
• • Delete them when they are no longer useful.

Rules are a powerful way to ensure Cascade aligns with your team's specific coding practices and project requirements.

• • "Follow the repository pattern for data access"
• • "Use dependency injection for service classes"
• • "Implement error boundaries for React components"

Project Conventions:

• • "Name test files with .test.ts extension"
• • "Put shared utilities in the /utils directory"
• • "Use absolute imports for all internal modules"

Managing Existing Rules

Edit Rules: Click on any rule to modify its content or scope.

Delete Rules: Remove rules that are no longer relevant or effective.

Reorder Rules: Arrange rules by priority or importance.

Export/Import: Share rules with team members or across projects.

Rule Activation Modes

Always Active: Rules that apply to every Cascade interaction.

Context-Specific: Rules that activate based on file type or project context.

On-Demand: Rules you can reference explicitly in conversations.

Example Rules

"When creating React components, always use TypeScript interfaces for props and include default export."

"For API endpoints, include input validation, error handling, and proper HTTP status codes."

"Write unit tests using Jest and include both positive and negative test cases."

Effective rules make Cascade more aligned with your development practices and team standards.