Rules

What are rules?

Rules are plain-text constraints that govern every planning decision Romyq makes. They are stored in .romyq/rules.json and injected into every DeepSeek planning call.

When the planner proposes a task that violates a rule, the task is rejected and replanned. This happens before execution — no violating task ever reaches Claude Code.

Examples:

Always use PostgreSQL
Never use SQLite
Require tests for every endpoint
Backend must be complete before any frontend work
Authentication must be complete before any protected routes
No hardcoded secrets — all secrets via environment variables

Managing rules

romyq rules                          # list active rules
romyq rules list                     # same as above
romyq rules add "Always use PostgreSQL"
romyq rules add "Never use SQLite"
romyq rules add "Require tests for all API endpoints"
romyq rules remove "Always use PostgreSQL"
romyq rules --json                   # list as JSON

When rules take effect

Rules are injected into the next planning call. They do not require a restart or reload — the planner reads the current rules.json before each task generation.

Previously completed tasks are not re-evaluated when you add a new rule.

From the operator shell

In romyq shell, typing any text that is not a built-in command records it as a steering instruction. You can use this to guide the planner, but it is not a rule — it does not persist beyond the current planning context.

To add a permanent rule from the shell:

> rules add Always use PostgreSQL

Or from a regular terminal:

romyq rules add "Always use PostgreSQL"

Viewing decisions

Every governance evaluation is written to .romyq/decisions.json. To see recent decisions:

romyq decisions              # show last 20 decisions
romyq decisions --last 50    # show more
romyq decisions --json       # machine-readable output

Each decision entry records the task, the rules it was evaluated against, the result (accepted or rejected), and the reason.

Relationship to the project constitution

romyq constitution generates .romyq/project.md — a single-document view of the whole project including mission, phases, capabilities, and current rules. It is a read-only snapshot. Editing it does not change the governance rules; use romyq rules add/remove for that.

romyq constitution           # write .romyq/project.md
romyq constitution --print   # print to stdout