Decisions

Pending: Should existing .claude/rules/ files be removed after moving to path-scoped locations, or kept as fallback?
Pending: Are there any rules currently in CLAUDE.md that should be extracted into path-scoped rules instead?

User Tasks

FR-026: Rules Expansion & Review

Summary

Review existing Claude Code rules and expand with path-scoped rules for key vault and config directories.

Problem / Motivation

Current rules in .claude/rules/ load globally for every context, even when not relevant. There are only two rule files (vault-conventions, coding-standards) that duplicate some CLAUDE.md content. Key areas like skills, features, daily operations, and knowledge have no dedicated rules, leading to inconsistent handling.

Proposed Solution

Review and improve the two existing rule files.
Move them to path-scoped locations (vault/.claude/rules, src/.claude/rules).
Add new path-scoped rules for high-value directories.

Open Questions

Should existing .claude/rules/ files be removed after moving to path-scoped locations, or kept as fallback?
Are there any rules currently in CLAUDE.md that should be extracted into path-scoped rules instead?

Phase Overview

Phase	Description	Status
Phase 1	Review & restructure existing rules	—
Phase 2	Add new path-scoped rules	—
Phase 3	Deduplicate CLAUDE.md vs rules	—

Phase 1: Review & Restructure Existing Rules —

Goal: Audit existing rules for gaps and duplication, then move to path-scoped locations.

File / Feature	Details	Owner	Status
Review vault-conventions.md	Check for gaps, duplication with CLAUDE.md, completeness	mv	—
Review coding-standards.md	Check for gaps, duplication with CLAUDE.md, completeness	mv	—
Move vault-conventions to path-scoped location	`vault/.claude/rules`	opus	—
Move coding-standards to path-scoped location	`src/.claude/rules`	opus	—

Phase 2: Add New Path-Scoped Rules —

Goal: Create path-scoped rules for high-value directories to provide context-specific guidance.

File / Feature	Details	Owner	Status
`.claude/skills/.claude/rules`	SKILL.md format, registration process, naming	opus	—
`vault/10_features/.claude/rules`	Template enforcement, frontmatter, lifecycle transitions	opus	—
`vault/30_daily/.claude/rules`	Date naming, briefings vs changes vs thoughts	opus	—
`vault/20_knowledge/.claude/rules`	Subcategory guidance, create vs update	opus	—
`vault/90_inbox/.claude/rules`	Quick capture conventions, proposals subfolder	opus	—
`.claude/hooks/.claude/rules`	Hook conventions, registration in settings.json	opus	—

Phase 3: Deduplicate CLAUDE.md —

Goal: Remove details from CLAUDE.md that are now covered by path-scoped rules.

File / Feature	Details	Owner	Status
Identify overlapping content	Compare CLAUDE.md sections with new rules	opus	—
Slim down CLAUDE.md	Remove details now covered by path-scoped rules	opus	—

Acceptance Criteria:

Existing rules reviewed and improved
Rules moved to path-scoped locations
At least 3 new path-scoped rules created (skills, features, daily)
No duplicate instructions between CLAUDE.md and rule files
All rules are concise and actionable

Notes:

Path-scoped rules use the format <directory>/.claude/rules (a file, not a folder).
Rules should be short — max ~15 lines. Long rules waste tokens.
See discussion in session 2026-02-27 for the full proposed rules list.

Prerequisites / Gap Analysis

Requirements

Requirement	Description
REQ-1	Existing rule files must be reviewed before moving

Current State

Component	Status	Details
vault-conventions.md	done	Exists in `.claude/rules/`
coding-standards.md	done	Exists in `.claude/rules/`
Path-scoped rules	—	None exist yet

Gap (What’s missing?)

Gap	Effort	Blocker?
No path-scoped rules	Med	No
Duplication between CLAUDE.md and rules	Low	No

Test

Manual tests

Test	Expected	Actual	Last
Rules load in correct context	Path-scoped rules only load for matching paths	pending	-
No CLAUDE.md duplication	No overlapping instructions	pending	-

AI-verified tests

Scenario	Expected behavior	Verification method
…	…	…

E2E tests

Scenario	Assertion
…	…

Integration tests

Component	Coverage
…	…

Unit tests

Component	Tests	Coverage
…	…	…

History

Date	Event	Details
2026-02-27	Created
2026-02-28	Reformatted	Aligned to feature-request template

References

FR-017 (Skill Review)

Opus Vault

Explorer

Rules Expansion & Review