JoinGrove

Rules & Agent Instructions

Source: docs/overview/rules.md
Generated: 01/09/2026

JoinGrove ships Cursor-style rules and Copilot instructions in every stack template so agents follow your project conventions from day one.

Key Concepts

  • What: Rules are markdown instruction files (.cursor/rules/*.mdc, AGENTS.md, .github/copilot-instructions.md) that shape agent behavior per project.
  • Why: Campus cohorts and teams need consistent scaffolds — agents should know your stack, locale, and payment rails without re-prompting every session.
  • Related: Prompting guide (prompting.md), stack templates (stacks.md), customize overview (customize.md).

API / Reference

File Location Purpose
AGENTS.md Project root (stack templates) Primary agent instructions for JoinGrove / Copilot
.cursor/rules/*.mdc .cursor/rules/ Scoped rules (market, MIT license, product model)
.github/copilot-instructions.md .github/ GitHub Copilot workspace instructions
joingrove-market.mdc Stack template rules WordPress, Laravel, Flutter, mobile money conventions
User rules Cursor/VS Code settings Personal preferences across all projects

Commands

Command ID
Create stack project (includes rules) joingrove.createStackProject
Open market customization guide joingrove.openMarketDocs

Setup & Installation

  1. Command Palette → Create Global South Stack Project… (joingrove.createStackProject).
  2. Pick a template (WordPress, Laravel, Flutter, mobile money, govtech).
  3. Open the new folder — review AGENTS.md and .cursor/rules/.
  4. Edit rules for your cohort (e.g. add M-Pesa webhook patterns, locale defaults).

Code Examples

After scaffolding, verify rules are present:

ls -la .cursor/rules/
cat AGENTS.md

Add a project-specific rule file (example name):

# .cursor/rules/my-cohort.mdc
# Describe payment provider, locale, and coding standards for your campus lab.

Next: Start an agent session in the Agents window — rules load automatically from the workspace.

How It Connects

  • Stack templates: resources/stack-templates/ — each ships rules + AGENTS.md
  • Prompting & context: prompting.md
  • Market customization: customize.md
  • Verify: npm run verify-market-customization