Rules
Always-on instructions for installed plugins.
Rules are markdown instructions that Reforma adds to the agent context whenever the plugin is enabled.
Unlike skills, rules are not selected on demand. They apply on every turn and cannot be invoked as slash commands.
Rules are a Reforma capability and are not part of the portable Agent Plugins core.
Use a rule for instructions that should consistently shape the agent's behavior — for example, a project-wide style, coding convention, or mood.
Use a skill when the instructions are only relevant to particular tasks.
Layout
Put rules directly under rules/:
rules/
bro.mdRules are plain Markdown. An optional description in frontmatter is shown with the rule in Reforma:
---
description: Respond with direct, informal feedback and challenge weak ideas.
---
# Bro Mode
…Keep rules focused. Because they apply on every turn, broad or task-specific workflows are usually better implemented as skills.
Rules vs skills
| Rules | Skills | |
|---|---|---|
| Path | rules/*.md | skills/<name>/SKILL.md |
| Loaded | Every turn while the plugin is enabled | On demand |
| Model can activate | Not applicable — already active | Yes, unless disable-model-invocation: true |
| User can invoke | No | Yes, unless disable-user-invocation: true |
| Reforma UI | Rules | Skills or Commands |
Use a rule for standing instructions.
Use a skill for reusable knowledge or a workflow that should only enter context when relevant.
Imported rules
New Reforma plugins should author rules as plain rules/*.md.
For compatibility with imported plugins, the catalog packer also accepts:
rules/*.mdc.cursor/rules/instructions/
These are normalized to rules/*.md when the plugin is packed.