What files get created or updated?

AGENTS.md is created or updated to include rules between PLAITED-RULES-START and PLAITED-RULES-END; CLAUDE.md will gain a reference to AGENTS.md if present.

What are the required markers?

The rules are placed between and markers inside AGENTS.md.

What if I see duplicate rules after scaffolding?

Remove the duplicate section and re-run scaffold-rules to clean up the file.

scaffold-rules

npx machina-cli add skill plaited/development-skills/scaffold-rules --openclaw

Files (1)

SKILL.md

2.4 KB

Scaffold Rules

Scaffold shared development rules for AI coding agent environments.

When to Use

Use when the user wants to:

Set up development rules or coding conventions
Configure their AI coding agent environment
Add project guidelines for Claude, Cursor, or other agents

Workflow

Step 1: Preview Changes (Optional)

bunx @plaited/development-skills scaffold-rules --dry-run

Review the actions array to see what will be created.

Step 2: Run Scaffold

bunx @plaited/development-skills scaffold-rules

This will:

Write rules into AGENTS.md (creates if missing, updates between markers if present)
Add @AGENTS.md reference to CLAUDE.md if it exists without one

Step 3: Report to User

Tell the user what was created based on the actions output.

CLI Options

Flag	Description
`--list`, `-l`	List available rules without scaffolding
`--dry-run`, `-n`	Preview actions without making changes

How It Works

Rules are written directly into AGENTS.md between markers:

<!-- PLAITED-RULES-START -->

## Rules

(rule content inlined here)

<!-- PLAITED-RULES-END -->

No AGENTS.md: Creates one with rules section
AGENTS.md without markers: Appends rules section with markers
AGENTS.md with markers: Replaces content between markers (preserves user content outside)
CLAUDE.md exists: Adds @AGENTS.md reference if not already present

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Fix
Rules duplicated in AGENTS.md	Markers were manually deleted	Remove duplicate section, re-run `scaffold-rules`
Update didn't apply	Only one marker present (start or end)	Ensure both `<!-- PLAITED-RULES-START -->` and `<!-- PLAITED-RULES-END -->` exist, or delete both to get a fresh append
`@AGENTS.md` not added to CLAUDE.md	CLAUDE.md doesn't exist	Create CLAUDE.md first, then re-run

Do not manually edit content between the PLAITED-RULES-START and PLAITED-RULES-END markers — it will be overwritten on next run.

Related Skills

validate-skill - Validate skill directories against AgentSkills spec

Source

git clone https://github.com/plaited/development-skills/blob/main/skills/scaffold-rules/SKILL.mdView on GitHub

Overview

Scaffold shared development rules for AI coding agent environments. It automates creating or updating AGENTS.md with rules, placing them between PLAITED-RULES-START and PLAITED-RULES-END markers, and optionally adding an @AGENTS.md reference to CLAUDE.md. This helps keep project guidelines consistent across Claude, Cursor, and other agents.

How This Skill Works

Rules are written directly into AGENTS.md between the PLAITED-RULES-START and PLAITED-RULES-END markers. If AGENTS.md does not exist, it is created; if markers are missing or incomplete, content is appended or replaced accordingly. When CLAUDE.md exists, the tool adds a reference to AGENTS.md.

When to Use It

You want to set up development rules or coding conventions for AI agents.
You need to configure or bootstrap your AI coding agent environment.
You want to add or update project guidelines for Claude, Cursor, or other agents.
You prefer a dry-run preview to see which files will change before applying.
You want to ensure future updates automatically reflect in CLAUDE.md.

Quick Start

Step 1: Preview Changes (Optional) — bunx @plaited/development-skills scaffold-rules --dry-run
Step 2: Run Scaffold — bunx @plaited/development-skills scaffold-rules
Step 3: Report Results — Review AGENTS.md for the inserted rules and CLAUDE.md for the reference

Best Practices

Preview changes with --dry-run before applying to avoid unintended edits.
Ensure both PLAITED-RULES-START and PLAITED-RULES-END markers exist for clean replacement.
If CLAUDE.md exists, verify the @AGENTS.md reference is added.
Do not edit content between the markers manually; edits will be overwritten on next run.
When duplicates appear, remove the extra section and re-run scaffold-rules.

Example Use Cases

A team scaffolds a central AGENTS.md with coding conventions for their AI agents.
CLAUDE.md is updated to reference AGENTS.md automatically after scaffolding.
A dry-run preview shows the exact changes that will be written to AGENTS.md.
Markers in AGENTS.md are preserved outside their range while the rules are updated.
After cleanup, a user re-runs scaffold-rules to apply a fresh, non-duplicated set of rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

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