name: Roorules Vocabulary
description: >-
  Vocabulary and taxonomy for Roo Code AI coding assistant and the .roorules
  configuration file convention, covering AI agent modes, provider integrations,
  MCP tools, and coding workflow concepts.
created: '2026-05-02'
modified: '2026-05-02'
terms:
  - term: .roorules
    definition: >-
      A project-level configuration file that provides Roo Code AI agents with
      project-specific coding conventions, style guidelines, architecture rules,
      and behavioral instructions. Placed in the project root, it is
      automatically loaded when Roo Code is used within that project.
    tags:
      - Configuration
      - Core
  - term: Roo Code
    definition: >-
      An open-source, AI-powered autonomous coding assistant for VS Code that
      goes beyond autocomplete to read and write across multiple files, execute
      terminal commands, and coordinate multi-agent workflows.
    tags:
      - Core
  - term: Mode
    definition: >-
      A named operational context within Roo Code that configures how the AI
      agent behaves. Built-in modes include Code (writing/editing), Architect
      (planning), Debug (diagnosing), and Ask (Q&A). Custom modes can be
      defined in .roomodes files.
    tags:
      - Configuration
  - term: .roomodes
    definition: >-
      A configuration file defining custom Roo Code operational modes with
      specific instructions, allowed tools, and model settings distinct from
      the built-in Code/Architect/Debug/Ask modes.
    tags:
      - Configuration
  - term: API Configuration Profile
    definition: >-
      A saved set of AI provider and model settings in Roo Code that can be
      assigned to specific modes. Allows switching between providers (Anthropic,
      OpenAI, Google) and models without reconfiguring globally.
    tags:
      - Configuration
      - Integration
  - term: MCP
    definition: >-
      Model Context Protocol — an open protocol for connecting AI models to
      external tools and data sources. Roo Code acts as an MCP client and can
      connect to MCP servers exposing file systems, APIs, databases, and
      cloud services.
    tags:
      - Integration
      - Protocol
  - term: MCP Server
    definition: >-
      An external service implementing the Model Context Protocol that exposes
      tools and resources to Roo Code AI agents. Examples include filesystem
      servers, web search servers, database connectors, and API clients.
    tags:
      - Integration
      - MCP
  - term: Auto-Approve
    definition: >-
      A Roo Code permission setting that allows the AI agent to execute certain
      operations (file writes, terminal commands, browser actions) without
      requiring explicit user confirmation for each action.
    tags:
      - Configuration
      - Security
  - term: Orchestrator Mode
    definition: >-
      A Roo Code mode in which the AI coordinates multiple specialized
      sub-agents to complete complex tasks, delegating work to Code, Architect,
      or Debug agents as needed.
    tags:
      - AI Agents
      - Architecture
  - term: Boomerang Task
    definition: >-
      A Roo Code pattern where the orchestrator spawns a sub-agent to complete
      a specific sub-task and returns the result back to the parent workflow,
      enabling hierarchical multi-agent task decomposition.
    tags:
      - AI Agents
      - Architecture
  - term: Context Window
    definition: >-
      The maximum amount of text (tokens) an LLM can process in a single
      interaction. Roo Code manages context window usage through compaction
      and summarization to stay within model limits during long sessions.
    tags:
      - LLM
      - Architecture
  - term: Tool Use
    definition: >-
      The capability of Roo Code AI agents to call structured functions such
      as read_file, write_file, execute_command, browser_action, and MCP tools
      to interact with the development environment.
    tags:
      - AI Agents
      - Core
  - term: System Prompt
    definition: >-
      Instructions prepended to every Roo Code conversation that establish
      the agent's role, capabilities, and constraints. Mode-specific system
      prompts can be customized via .roorules and .roomodes files.
    tags:
      - Configuration
      - LLM
  - term: Provider
    definition: >-
      An AI model provider supported by Roo Code, including Anthropic (Claude),
      OpenAI (GPT-4o, o1), Google (Gemini), Amazon Bedrock, OpenRouter, and
      local LLMs via OpenAI-compatible APIs (Ollama, LM Studio).
    tags:
      - Integration
      - LLM
  - term: Cloud Agent
    definition: >-
      A Roo Code Cloud feature enabling pre-configured AI agent roles (Planner,
      Coder) accessible from Slack and GitHub integrations for asynchronous
      development workflows outside the VS Code editor.
    tags:
      - AI Agents
      - Cloud