Rules, Workflows & Hooks

Customizing AI behavior with project rules, workflows, and hooks

Rules

Rules are instructions for the AI that apply to your entire project. They define coding style, architectural decisions, and constraints.

Where they live

Create a .skycoderules file (or a .skycoderules/ directory with multiple rule files) in the project root.

Global rules (for all projects) are stored in ~/Documents/Skycode/Rules/.

Example

- Use TypeScript
- Components in src/components/
- Styling: Tailwind CSS
- No console.log in production code
- Tests next to files (*.test.ts)

Management

Rules can be enabled/disabled through the management panel: click the rules icon in chat → "Rules" tab.

Skycode automatically picks up changes to rule files on each new message.

Workflows

Workflows are pre-written instruction sequences that can be invoked with /workflow-name in chat.

Where they live

.skycoderules/workflows/ — each file is one workflow.

Global workflows: ~/Documents/Skycode/Workflows/.

Example

File .skycoderules/workflows/new-component:

1. Create a React component in src/components/
2. Add Props types
3. Write a test next to it (*.test.tsx)
4. Export from index.ts

Invocation

Type in chat: /new-component ButtonGroup — the AI will execute all steps.

Management

Workflows can be enabled/disabled through the panel: rules icon → "Workflows" tab.

Hooks

Hooks are scripts that automatically run on certain AI events.

Where they live

.skycoderules/hooks/ — each file is one hook. The file name is the event name.

Global hooks: ~/Documents/Skycode/Hooks/.

Available Events

Event	When it triggers
PreToolUse	Before an AI tool executes
PostToolUse	After an AI tool executes
UserPromptSubmit	When the user sends a message
TaskStart	When a new task starts
TaskResume	When a task is resumed
TaskCancel	When a task is cancelled
TaskComplete	When a task completes
PreCompact	Before context compaction

Example

File .skycoderules/hooks/PostToolUse:

#!/bin/bash
# Run linter after every AI action
cd "$WORKSPACE_ROOT"
npm run lint --fix 2>/dev/null
echo '{"cancel": false}'

The hook receives JSON on stdin and must return JSON on stdout:

{
  "cancel": false,
  "contextModification": "Optional context for AI",
  "errorMessage": ""
}

• cancel: true — cancels the current action
• contextModification — adds text to AI context (max 50 KB)
• Execution timeout: 30 seconds

Management

Hooks can be enabled/disabled through the panel: rules icon → "Hooks" tab.

Windows: On Windows, hooks are executed through the shell. Hook files should have no extension (like git hooks).