Description
A number of us (VSC included) need some kind of context ("rules") defined per-codebase. This is often used to indicate the ways you should write code, the technologies you use.. generally speaking its a mix of preference and knowledge.
Today these rules exist in various fashion, but here are some known patterns:
- a rules directory (e.g. .cursor/rules/)
- settings dialog (e.g. Sentry's solution uses this)
- llms.txt or similar (agents.md is another example)
Formats I've seen:
- markdown + headers, where headers usually indicate how the rule might be applied
- undefined text
Its important that the core of this is reusable so developers dont need to reimplement these context providers in multiple formats, let alone in formats outside of the version control system. I do believe a single file is the wrong solution, as we shouldnt require these context files be only functional with RAG or large context windows. Having basic indicators in the format (e.g. this applies to this glob) is extremely helpful.
I'm going to leave it up to others to provide feedback who have more knowledge in the space, but I'm representing Sentry's concerns here. One point of inspiration Sentry has talked about is the OWNERS file constructs, and how its become a bit of a standard over time (albeit with a GitHub flavored addition).