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Rules Reference

wrm3 edited this page Jul 6, 2026 · 1 revision

gald3r Rules — Reference

Always-on guidance loaded every session: when each rule fires, what it requires, and any exemptions. Extracted from each rule file in project_template/.claude/rules/. For the rule table, see Rules.

Total rules: 12


g-rl-00-always

g-rl-00-always

When it fires / what it covers:

  1. Include in the final line(s) on every response to the user:

Documentation Standards

g-rl-01-documentation

When it fires / what it covers:

Documentation file placement and naming standards


Git Workflow

g-rl-02-git_workflow

When it fires / what it covers:

Git workflow conventions — commit message format and branch standards

Rules:

  • Subject line ≤ 72 characters
  • Use imperative mood: "add" not "added" or "adds"
  • Reference task ID in every task-related commit
  • Never commit secrets, API keys, or passwords
  • Run git status before committing to verify staged files

Code Reusability (DRY Enforcement)

g-rl-04-code_reusability

When it fires / what it covers:

If logic appears 3+ times, it MUST be extracted to a shared module. No exceptions.


PowerShell on Windows 10/11

g-rl-08-powershell

When it fires / what it covers:

  1. Stop — don't retry the same command

Python Virtual Environment (UV)

g-rl-09-python_venv

When it fires / what it covers:

UV package manager and virtual environment standards for Python projects


Rule: Update Documentation at Feature Boundary

g-rl-26-readme-changelog

When it fires / what it covers:

Agents must update CHANGELOG.md and README.md when completing user-facing feature tasks


TODO/Stub Lifecycle Enforcement

g-rl-34-todo_completion_gate

When it fires / what it covers:

Stub/TODO lifecycle enforcement — fires at stub creation time AND at completion gate; stubs require forward-linking comments and follow-up tasks before moving on

What Triggers This Rule:

Mark the task as incomplete (or add mandatory annotation) when ANY of the following exist in code written for this task:

Pattern Examples
TODO / FIXME comments # TODO, // TODO, /* FIXME */, -- TODO
Stub function bodies pass, ..., return None # stub, throw new Error("not implemented")
NotImplementedError raise NotImplementedError, todo!() (Rust), unimplemented!()
Hardcoded / mock data FAKE_, MOCK_, TEST_, PLACEHOLDER_, "dummy", "example.com", 12345 as real IDs
Hardcoded credentials or keys Any literal string that looks like a key, token, password, or secret
Commented-out real logic Sections replaced with # real logic goes here or similar
Empty except/catch blocks except: pass, catch (e) {} with no handling

Bug-Discovery Gate (Zero-Ignore Policy)

g-rl-35-bug-discovery-gate

When it fires / what it covers:

Bug-discovery gate — bugs found during implementation are never silently ignored: current-task bugs fixed inline, pre-existing bugs logged with BUG[BUG-{id}] comment

Exemptions:

Do NOT report as pre-existing bugs:

  • Intentional placeholder values (test fixtures, examples with clearly fake data)
  • Linter warnings already tracked as tech debt in BUGS.md
  • Cosmetic issues (formatting, whitespace, naming) unless they cause incorrect behavior


Think in Code — Context Reduction Pattern (g-rl-37)

g-rl-37-think-in-code

When it fires / what it covers:

When a task requires 3 or more sequential reads, greps, or status checks on the same or related files, write a single script instead of making multiple tool cal

Exemptions:

Do NOT collapse to a script when:

  • The second tool call depends on runtime output of the first (dynamic path resolution)
  • You need an IDE diff/edit tool (not a script)
  • The task is a single-file edit (script overhead not worth it)

Component Creation Standards (g-rl-38)

g-rl-38-component-creation-standards

When it fires / what it covers:

Component creation standards — subsystem tagging required on all .gald3r_sys components


Norse Pantheon Startup Team Personality System (MANDATORY)

gald3r_personality

When it fires / what it covers:

MANDATORY Norse Pantheon startup team personas for all responses


Last updated: 2026-07-06 (gald3r v2.4.0)

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