aid: clinerules
name: .clinerules
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/clinerules/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2025-01-01'
modified: '2026-04-27'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
type: Index
access: Public
position: Consumer
kind: standard
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
  - AI Agents
  - Cline
  - Coding Standards
  - Configuration
  - Developer Workflow
  - Prompt Engineering
description: >-
  .clinerules is the rule-file convention used by the Cline open-source AI
  coding agent. Projects expose persistent guidance to Cline by placing a
  .clinerules/ directory at the repository root containing one or more
  Markdown or text files. Each file may declare optional YAML frontmatter
  to scope its instructions to glob patterns so the agent only loads
  context relevant to the active task. The format is interoperable with
  AGENTS.md, .cursorrules, and .windsurfrules conventions, providing a
  cross-tool standard for codifying coding conventions, architectural
  decisions, and behavioural constraints for AI coding agents.
apis: []
common:
  - type: VulnerabilityDisclosure
    url: security/clinerules-vulnerability-disclosure.yml
  - type: DomainSecurity
    url: security/clinerules-domain-security.yml
  - type: Website
    url: https://cline.bot
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.cline.bot/features/cline-rules
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/cline/cline
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/clinerules-rule-schema.json
  - type: JSONLDContext
    url: json-ld/clinerules-context.jsonld
  - type: LlmsText
    url: https://docs.cline.bot/llms.txt
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com