Add a New Coding Tool

Add support for a new AI coding tool to rule-composer.

Prerequisites

• •Know the tool's rule directory structure, file extension, and whether it supports YAML frontmatter
• •Know the tool's variable names (rule dir, skill dir, etc.)

Steps

1. Add the tool ID

In scripts/shared/types.ts, add the new ID to the TOOL_IDS array (kebab-case, alphabetical order).

2. Add the tool config

In scripts/shared/formats.ts, add a ToolConfig entry to TOOL_REGISTRY:

'new-tool': {
  label: 'New Tool',
  directories: ['.new-tool/rules/'],    // directories to scan for rules
  singleFiles: [],                       // standalone rule files (e.g., 'RULES.md')
  extension: '.md',                      // file extension for rules
  hasFrontmatter: false,                 // true only if tool supports YAML frontmatter
},

3. Add the variable map

In scripts/shared/formats.ts, add a complete entry to TOOL_VARIABLES:

'new-tool': {
  TOOL_NAME: 'New Tool',
  RULES_DIR: '.new-tool/rules/',
  RULES_EXT: '.md',
  SKILLS_DIR: '',           // empty string if unsupported → lines removed during resolution
  SKILLS_EXT: '',
  GLOBAL_RULES: '',
  GLOBAL_SKILLS: '',
  RULE_EXAMPLE: '',
},

Every key must be present. Use '' for unsupported features.

4. Run existing tests

pnpm test

Most tests auto-cover via TOOL_IDS iteration — they should pass without changes.

5. Regenerate fixtures and variant output

pnpm generate-fixtures
pnpm build-variants

6. Verify variant output

Check coding-tools/<new-tool>/ for correctly resolved files.

Notes

• •Detection works by scanning CWD for the directories/files listed in the config.
• •Placeholder resolution removes entire lines when the variable value is ''.
• •hasFrontmatter: true is only for tools that parse YAML front matter (currently only Cursor .mdc).