Binding for every AI agent (Claude, Codex, Cursor, review bots, …). CLAUDE.md is the full constitution; this is the operating contract. When they conflict, CLAUDE.md wins.
- Default to the shortest response that fully answers. Outlines and tables over prose; no preamble, no recap of what you just did, no re-explaining a fix the diff already shows. Applies to every response, not just status updates.
- Lead with the outcome. No narration, no restating diffs, no filler praise, no plans you're about to execute anyway.
- Status updates: one line. Final reports: only what changes the reader's next action.
- Don't re-derive what CI, linters, or review bots already computed — read their output first (
gh pr checks, bot comments viagh api .../pulls/N/comments). - Mechanical rules live in deterministic tests, never in agent effort: changelog style (
tests/test_changelog_style.py), locale parity (tests/test_locale_parity.py), version lockstep (tests/test_app_version.py), CJK (tests/test_no_hardcoded_cjk.py). - Run targeted tests while iterating; full suites only before landing.
- Tests and CI simulate CI honestly:
HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1+ emptyHF_HUB_CACHE— a populated dev cache masks real failures.
- The parity rule covers user-visible BEHAVIOUR. Hardware acceleration varies by host by design (CUDA/MPS/DirectML, Triton availability,
torch.compile); skipping an optimization where it physically cannot work is not a parity violation. - Do not "fix" a parity finding by disabling a working optimization everywhere. That trades a real regression for a semantic one.
- A feature the user can see and use on one OS but not another IS a violation. Judge by what the user can do, not by how fast it runs.
- Never merge without review. Harvest CodeRabbit + Greptile comments first; never merge with an unread Critical/P1.
- Never accept a PR as-is: fix findings ON the PR branch pre-merge (maintainer commits fine; credit contributors in CHANGELOG). No merge-then-fix, no comment-and-walk-away.
- Merge current
maininto stale branches before judging their CI — PR-green under an old workflow ≠ main-green. - Gate: "Tests (backend + frontend)" green + MERGEABLE.
- After EVERY merge: watch
main's own post-merge runs to green (gh run list --branch main). Red main = drop everything and fix.
- Root-cause the class, not the instance; fail-before/pass-after regression test; smallest correct change.
- Default behavior identical on macOS/Windows/Linux; platform-only features go behind explicit opt-in. Divergent default = P0.
- Local-first: no new required network calls; any HF download gated on installed-ness or explicit user action; all synthetic audio through the
mark_syntheticchokepoint. - Every user-facing string via i18n, present in ALL 21
frontend/src/i18n/locales/*.jsonwith real translations. - Docs-sync in the same PR. CHANGELOG Unreleased: quiet one-liners ending
(#N)+— thanks @user!for community work, under a short**Highlights**list. - Versioning:
frontend/package.jsonis the single source of truth; never bump without the owner asking. frontend/package.jsondep changes require regenerating rootbun.lock(Docker runs--frozen-lockfile).- Issues: absorb or decline — never defer to a future version. Check the open-PR queue before implementing community-reported fixes.
- Use
frontend/src/components/SearchableSelect.jsxfor all new or redesigned select boxes. ReuseVoiceSelectorfor voice choices. Do not introduce native<select>controls. - Provide a localized
ariaLabel; usemenuPortalinside scrolling or clipping containers. Preserve keyboard selection and disabled states.
Project development skills are pinned in skills-lock.json and installed under
.agents/skills/: Vite and FastAPI.
Repository rules and tracker mappings override generic skill guidance.
GitHub Issues on debpalash/VoiceStudio, via the gh CLI. See docs/agents/issue-tracker.md.
The five canonical roles, each label string equal to its name. See docs/agents/triage-labels.md.
Single-context: CONTEXT.md + docs/adr/ at the repo root. See docs/agents/domain.md.