ai-agent-rules 0.5.2

Manage user-level AI agent configurations

AI Rules

Manage AI agent configurations through symlinks. Keep all your configs in one git-tracked location.

Overview

Consolidates config files for AI coding agents (Claude Code, Goose) into a single source of truth via symlinks:

• Git-tracked configs synced across machines
• Edit once, apply everywhere
• Exclude specific files (e.g., company-managed)
• Per-agent customizations

Supported: Claude Code (settings, agents, commands), Goose (hints, config), Shared (AGENTS.md)

Installation

Requirements: Python 3.10+, uv

From PyPI (Recommended)

One-command setup from PyPI:

uvx --from ai-agent-rules ai-rules setup

This will:

1. Install AI agent configuration symlinks
2. Make ai-rules available system-wide

After setup, you can run ai-rules from any directory.

Local Development

For contributing or local development:

git clone https://github.com/wpfleger96/ai-rules.git
cd ai-rules
uv tool install -e .
ai-rules install

Updating

Check for and install updates:

ai-rules upgrade              # Check and install updates
ai-rules upgrade --check      # Only check for updates

Auto-update checks run weekly by default. Configure in ~/.ai-rules/update_config.yaml:

enabled: true
frequency: weekly  # daily, weekly, never
notify_only: false

Usage

User-Level Configuration

ai-rules setup                      # One-time setup: install symlinks + make available system-wide
ai-rules upgrade                    # Upgrade to latest version
ai-rules upgrade --check            # Check for updates without installing

ai-rules install                    # Install all agent configs
ai-rules install --agents claude    # Install specific agents
ai-rules install --dry-run          # Preview changes
ai-rules install --force            # Skip confirmations
ai-rules install --rebuild-cache    # Rebuild merged settings cache

ai-rules status                     # Check symlink status (✓✗⚠○)
ai-rules diff                       # Show config differences
ai-rules validate                   # Verify source files exist
ai-rules update                     # Re-sync after adding files
ai-rules uninstall                  # Remove all symlinks
ai-rules list-agents                # Show available agents

Configuration Management

# Interactive wizard for first-time setup
ai-rules config init                # Start configuration wizard

# View configuration
ai-rules config show                # Show raw config files
ai-rules config show --merged       # Show merged settings with overrides
ai-rules config show --agent claude # Show config for specific agent
ai-rules config edit                # Edit user config in $EDITOR

# Manage exclusions
ai-rules exclude add "~/.claude/*.json"      # Add exclusion pattern (supports globs)
ai-rules exclude remove "~/.claude/*.json"   # Remove exclusion pattern
ai-rules exclude list                        # List all exclusions

# Manage settings overrides (for machine-specific settings)
ai-rules override set claude.model "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929"  # Set simple override
ai-rules override set claude.hooks.SubagentStop[0].hooks[0].command "script.py"  # Array notation
ai-rules override unset claude.model         # Remove override
ai-rules override list                       # List all overrides

Configuration

Quick Start with Config Wizard

Run the interactive configuration wizard for guided setup:

ai-rules config init

This will walk you through:

1. Selecting common exclusions
2. Adding custom exclusion patterns (with glob support)
3. Setting up machine-specific settings overrides

User-Level Config

Create ~/.ai-rules-config.yaml for user-level settings:

version: 1

# Global exclusions (apply to all contexts)
# Supports glob patterns: *.json, **/*.yaml, etc.
exclude_symlinks:
  - "~/.config/goose/config.yaml"
  - "~/.claude/*.log"              # Glob: exclude all log files
  - "~/.claude/agents/debug-*.md"  # Glob: exclude debug agents

# Machine-specific settings overrides
# Keeps repo settings.json synced via git, but allows local overrides
settings_overrides:
  claude:
    model: "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929"  # Override model on personal laptop
    # Other settings inherited from base config/claude/settings.json
  goose:
    provider: "anthropic"

Config File Location:

• ~/.ai-rules-config.yaml - User-specific config (exclusions and overrides)

Settings Overrides - Syncing Configs Across Machines

Problem: You want to sync your settings.json via git, but need different settings on different machines (e.g., different model access on work vs personal laptop).

Solution: Use settings_overrides in your user config:

# ~/.ai-rules-config.yaml on personal laptop
settings_overrides:
  claude:
    model: "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929"  # No Opus access

# ~/.ai-rules-config.yaml on work laptop
settings_overrides:
  claude:
    model: "claude-opus-4-20250514"  # Has Opus access

Both machines sync the same config/claude/settings.json via git, but each has different local overrides. The system merges them at install time:

1. Base settings from config/claude/settings.json (git-tracked)
2. Merged with overrides from ~/.ai-rules-config.yaml (local only)
3. Cached in ~/.ai-rules/cache/claude/settings.json
4. Symlinked to ~/.claude/settings.json

After changing overrides, run:

ai-rules install --rebuild-cache

Array Notation for Nested Settings

Override commands support array index notation for complex nested structures:

# Override nested array elements (e.g., hooks)
ai-rules override set claude.hooks.SubagentStop[0].hooks[0].command "uv run ~/my-hook.py"

# Override environment variables
ai-rules override set claude.env.MY_VAR "value"

# The system validates paths and provides helpful suggestions
ai-rules override set claude.modle "sonnet"
# Error: Key 'modle' not found at 'modle'
# Available options: model, env, hooks, statusLine, ...

Path validation ensures you only set valid overrides that exist in the base settings, preventing typos and configuration errors.

Structure

config/
├── AGENTS.md              # User-level rules → ~/AGENTS.md, ~/.CLAUDE.md, ~/.config/goose/.goosehints
├── claude/
│   ├── settings.json      # → ~/.claude/settings.json
│   ├── agents/*.md        # → ~/.claude/agents/*.md (dynamic)
│   └── commands/*.md      # → ~/.claude/commands/*.md (dynamic)
└── goose/
    └── config.yaml        # → ~/.config/goose/config.yaml

Extending

Add Claude agent/command:

1. Create config/claude/agents/my-agent.md or config/claude/commands/my-cmd.md
2. Run ai-rules update

Add new AI tool:

1. Add configs to config/<tool>/
2. Implement ai_rules/agents/<tool>.py
3. Register in ai_rules/cli.py::get_agents()

Safety

• First-run warnings
• Timestamped backups (*.ai-rules-backup.YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS)
• Interactive prompts and dry-run mode
• Only manages symlinks (never deletes real files)
• Contextual error messages with tips

Development

Running Tests

The test suite includes both unit tests and integration tests.

The pytest-cov args are optional, use them to include a test coverage report in the output. To run all tests:

uv run pytest [--cov=src --cov-report=term-missing]

To only run unit tests:

uv run pytest -m unit

To only run integration tests:

uv run pytest -m integration

Troubleshooting

Wrong target: ai-rules status then ai-rules install --force

Restore backup:

ls -la ~/.CLAUDE.md.ai-rules-backup.*
mv ~/.CLAUDE.md.ai-rules-backup.20250104-143022 ~/.CLAUDE.md

Disable symlink: Use the exclude command or add to config manually:

ai-rules exclude add "~/.claude/settings.json"
# Or edit manually: ai-rules config edit

Override not applying: Rebuild the merged settings cache:

ai-rules install --rebuild-cache

View merged settings: Check what's actually being applied:

ai-rules config show --merged
ai-rules config show --merged --agent claude

License

MIT