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Complete Guide to AI Coding Rules Files for Every IDE

March 6, 2026 · 15 min read

AI coding assistants work best when they understand your project's conventions. Every major AI IDE supports some form of rules file — a config file that tells the AI about your tech stack, coding standards, and preferences. This guide covers all 15 supported IDEs.

📑 Quick Reference

IDERules File
🖱️ Cursor.cursorrules
🏄 Windsurf.windsurfrules
🤖 Claude CodeCLAUDE.md
🐙 GitHub Copilot.github/copilot-instructions.md
Cline.clinerules
⚙️ Zed AI.zed/rules
🔧 Aider.aider.conf.yml
▶️ Continue.dev.continuerc.json
🧠 Devin AIdevin.md
📦 Amazon Q.amazonq/rules
Bolt.newbolt.instructions.md
💜 Lovablelovable.instructions.md
🔄 Replit AI.replit/ai-rules
🚀 Augment Codeaugment-guidelines.md
🧩 JetBrains AIguidelines.md

Already know which IDE you need? Skip to our generator to create your rules file in seconds. Or read on for detailed setup guides for each IDE.

🏄 Windsurf.windsurfrules

Windsurf by Codeium is an AI-native code editor built on VS Code. It uses Cascade Flow for deep context awareness and supports agentic workflows.

Setup

Create a `.windsurfrules` file in your project root. Windsurf automatically detects and applies the rules.

Format

Markdown with YAML frontmatter. Use `---\ntrigger: always_on\n---` at the top for persistent rules.

.windsurfrules
---
trigger: always_on
---

# Role
You are an expert React developer using TypeScript.

# Conventions
- Use functional components with hooks
- Use TypeScript strict mode
- Prefer const over let

👉 Browse all Windsurf presets or generate custom Windsurf rules

🤖 Claude CodeCLAUDE.md

Claude Code is Anthropic's terminal-native CLI for AI-assisted coding. It reads CLAUDE.md for project context and coding standards.

Setup

Create a `CLAUDE.md` file in your project root. Claude Code reads it automatically when you run commands.

Format

Standard Markdown. Use headers to organize sections like ## Tech Stack, ## Conventions, ## Avoid.

CLAUDE.md
# CLAUDE.md

## About This Project
You are an expert Python developer using FastAPI.

## Tech Stack
- Python 3.12+
- FastAPI
- Pydantic v2

## Conventions
- Use type hints for all functions
- Use async/await for I/O operations

👉 Browse all Claude Code presets or generate custom Claude Code rules

🐙 GitHub Copilot.github/copilot-instructions.md

GitHub Copilot is the most widely used AI coding assistant with 20M+ users. It reads project-specific instructions from a markdown file.

Setup

Create `.github/copilot-instructions.md` in your repository. Copilot reads this file for custom coding context.

Format

Standard Markdown. Use clear headings and bullet points for conventions and preferences.

.github/copilot-instructions.md
# GitHub Copilot Instructions

## Context
You are an expert Next.js developer.

## Tech Stack
- Next.js (App Router)
- TypeScript
- Tailwind CSS

## Conventions
- Use Server Components by default
- Use TypeScript strict mode

👉 Browse all GitHub Copilot presets or generate custom GitHub Copilot rules

Cline.clinerules

Cline is an open-source autonomous coding agent for VS Code using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It has 1.2M+ monthly active users.

Setup

Create a `.clinerules` file in your project root. Cline picks it up automatically when working in the project.

Format

Plain text or Markdown. Similar format to .cursorrules — just list your Role, Stack, Conventions, and Anti-patterns.

.clinerules
# Role
You are an expert Go developer using Gin.

# Tech Stack
- Go 1.23+
- Gin web framework
- GORM

# Conventions
- Handle errors explicitly
- Use interfaces for dependency injection
- Write table-driven tests

👉 Browse all Cline presets or generate custom Cline rules

⚙️ Zed AI.zed/rules

Zed is a high-performance code editor written in Rust with native AI integration. It supports popular LLMs and local models via Ollama.

Setup

Create a `.zed/rules` file in your project. Zed reads it to customize AI assistant behavior.

Format

Plain text with clear sections for role, conventions, and preferences.

.zed/rules
# Role
You are an expert Rust developer using Actix Web.

# Conventions
- Use Result<T, E> for error handling
- Never use unwrap() in production
- Use async/await with Tokio

👉 Browse all Zed AI presets or generate custom Zed AI rules

🔧 Aider.aider.conf.yml

Aider is an open-source AI pair programming tool that works in the terminal. It supports multiple AI models and integrates with Git.

Setup

Create a `.aider.conf.yml` in your project root or home directory for global settings.

Format

YAML configuration with coding conventions. You can also use a conventions file referenced from the config.

.aider.conf.yml
# .aider.conf.yml
model: claude-3.5-sonnet
auto-commits: true

# Conventions
# Use TypeScript strict mode
# Prefer functional components
# Always handle errors explicitly

👉 Browse all Aider presets or generate custom Aider rules

▶️ Continue.dev.continuerc.json

Continue is an open-source autopilot for VS Code and JetBrains that's highly configurable, supporting custom AI models and integrations.

Setup

Create a `.continuerc.json` in your project root to configure Continue's behavior for the project.

Format

JSON configuration with model settings and custom instructions.

.continuerc.json
{
  "models": [{"provider": "anthropic", "model": "claude-3.5-sonnet"}],
  "customInstructions": "You are an expert Vue.js developer using Nuxt 3 and TypeScript."
}

👉 Browse all Continue.dev presets or generate custom Continue.dev rules

🧠 Devin AIdevin.md

Devin by Cognition Labs is marketed as the first AI software engineer. It can autonomously plan, code, debug, and deploy applications.

Setup

Create a `devin.md` file in your project root to guide Devin's understanding of your codebase.

Format

Markdown with project context, architectural decisions, and coding standards.

devin.md
# Devin.md

## Project Context
This is a Django REST API project.

## Architecture
- Follow MVT pattern
- Use serializers for all API endpoints
- Use class-based views for CRUD

👉 Browse all Devin AI presets or generate custom Devin AI rules

📦 Amazon Q Developer.amazonq/rules

Amazon Q Developer is AWS's AI coding assistant, optimized for cloud development with built-in security scanning.

Setup

Create `.amazonq/rules` in your project to provide Amazon Q with project-specific context.

Format

Markdown rules with conventions for AWS-specific patterns and general coding standards.

.amazonq/rules
# Role
You are an expert AWS developer using CDK and TypeScript.

# Conventions
- Use AWS CDK v2 for infrastructure
- Use DynamoDB single-table design
- Follow AWS Well-Architected Framework

👉 Browse all Amazon Q Developer presets or generate custom Amazon Q Developer rules

Bolt.newbolt.instructions.md

Bolt.new is an AI-powered web app builder that creates full-stack applications from natural language prompts in the browser.

Setup

Add a `bolt.instructions.md` file to guide Bolt's code generation for your specific project standards.

Format

Markdown with clear instructions about tech stack, design patterns, and code quality standards.

bolt.instructions.md
# Bolt Instructions

## Stack
- React + Vite
- Tailwind CSS
- Supabase backend

## Design
- Use modern, dark theme
- Mobile-first responsive design

👉 Browse all Bolt.new presets or generate custom Bolt.new rules

💜 Lovablelovable.instructions.md

Lovable is a text-to-app platform that generates React + Vite frontends with Supabase backends from natural language.

Setup

Create `lovable.instructions.md` to customize Lovable's code generation for your project.

Format

Markdown with architectural preferences and coding standards.

lovable.instructions.md
# Lovable Instructions

## Tech Stack
- React + Vite
- Supabase
- Tailwind CSS

## Conventions
- Use TypeScript strict mode
- Use React Query for data fetching

👉 Browse all Lovable presets or generate custom Lovable rules

🔄 Replit AI.replit/ai-rules

Replit is a cloud-based IDE with built-in AI features including code completion, explanation, and full-stack app generation.

Setup

Create `.replit/ai-rules` in your project to customize Replit AI's behavior.

Format

Plain text or Markdown with coding conventions and project context.

.replit/ai-rules
# Role
You are building a Python Flask API.

# Conventions
- Use Flask blueprints for routes
- Use SQLAlchemy for database access
- Write tests with pytest

👉 Browse all Replit AI presets or generate custom Replit AI rules

🚀 Augment Codeaugment-guidelines.md

Augment Code is an AI platform for professional engineers working with large, complex codebases. It understands entire repos.

Setup

Create `augment-guidelines.md` in your project root with coding standards and architecture.

Format

Markdown guidelines with sections for architecture, conventions, and patterns.

augment-guidelines.md
# Augment Guidelines

## Architecture
- Microservices with gRPC
- Event-driven with Kafka

## Conventions
- Use dependency injection
- Follow clean architecture layers

👉 Browse all Augment Code presets or generate custom Augment Code rules

🧩 JetBrains AIguidelines.md

JetBrains AI Assistant integrates directly into IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, and other JetBrains IDEs with language-specific optimizations.

Setup

Create `guidelines.md` in your project root. JetBrains AI uses it for context-aware suggestions.

Format

Markdown with project context, tech stack, and coding conventions.

guidelines.md
# Guidelines

## Project
Spring Boot REST API with JPA.

## Tech Stack
- Java 21
- Spring Boot 3
- PostgreSQL

## Conventions
- Use constructor injection
- Use DTOs for API responses

👉 Browse all JetBrains AI presets or generate custom JetBrains AI rules

Get Started

Ready to create rules for your project? Use our free generator — it supports all 15 IDEs and 20+ frameworks:

🚀 Generate Rules for Any IDE