.clinerules — Project Behavior File for Cline AI Agent

Code Style

• TypeScript strict mode, no any
• Functional components only, no class components
• Prefer async/await over .then() chains

Libraries

• UI: shadcn/ui + Tailwind (no Material UI, no Bootstrap)
• HTTP: native fetch (no axios)
• Forms: React Hook Form + Zod
• State: Zustand (no Redux)

File Structure

• Components in src/components/<feature>/
• Hooks in src/hooks/
• API routes in src/app/api/

Testing

• Vitest, not Jest
• Co-locate *.test.ts next to source
• Mock at the network layer, not the function layer

Don't

• Don't add comments unless asked
• Don't refactor unrelated code in the same PR
• Don't add new dependencies without confirming

### Per-folder rules

You can also drop `.clinerules` in subdirectories. Cline reads the closest one to the file being edited:

src/ ├── .clinerules # frontend rules ├── components/ └── api/ └── .clinerules # backend-specific overrides

### Plan / Act mode

Cline supports a Plan / Act split — Plan reviews the rules file, asks clarifying questions, and proposes the change before any file is touched. Act executes. The rules file is read in both phases.

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### FAQ

**Q: Is .clinerules free?**
A: Yes. The Cline VS Code extension itself is free and open-source (Apache-2.0). You bring your own LLM API key (Claude / OpenAI / OpenRouter / etc) and pay for inference.

**Q: Will Roo Code read .clinerules?**
A: Yes — Roo Code is a Cline fork and stays compatible with the .clinerules format. Same file, same behavior.

**Q: How long can the rules file be?**
A: Practically, keep it under ~500 lines. The file goes into every system prompt, so very long rules waste tokens on every task. Split per-folder or move long context into a referenced doc.

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