Skip to content
vibespell

.clinerules

Cline rules for Unreal

Cline and Roo Code read project rules before they edit. A root `.clinerules` file is the shared place for stack commands, safety limits, and how the agent should use tools. This copy is written for a Unreal project. This repository is an Unreal Engine project using C++. UObject memory is owned by the engine. Gameplay stays out of constructors that run before the world exists.

The example uses a balanced, readable style, pragmatic tests, and comments only where the intent is not obvious. Open the generator to make the agent stricter, switch to test-first, quiet the comments, or pick a different file.

The example assumes Unreal Engine with C++ gameplay code. It does not assume a particular networking model, Enhanced Input, or GAS unless the module already uses them.

Customize in the generatorBrowse the library

Example file

Balanced strictness, readable style, pragmatic tests. Download name: .clinerules

# Cline and Roo rules

Project rules for Cline and Roo Code in this Unreal repository.
Use the project's commands. Do not invent a package manager, and do not run destructive shell commands.

## Tool use

- Read the files you will change before editing them.
- Prefer a focused patch over rewriting a whole file.
- Run the test command from this file after a behavior change, or say why you could not.
- Do not delete generated folders, lockfiles, or migrations unless the task says so.

## Stack

This repository is an Unreal Engine project using C++. UObject memory is owned by the engine. Gameplay stays out of constructors that run before the world exists.

## Layout

- Runtime code lives in the game module. Editor-only code lives in an editor module.
- Generated headers stay included last, the way the module already does.
- Blueprints are data. Do not hard-code tuning that a designer already edits.

## Commands

- Build: `Build the editor target for this project`
- Tests: `Run the Unreal automation tests for the module you changed`

Use the script the repo already defines when it differs from the command above.

## Conventions

- Mark reflected fields with UPROPERTY and the specifiers the class already uses.
- Do not `new` a UObject. Use `NewObject`, `CreateDefaultSubobject`, or `SpawnActor`.
- Do not tick a component that only needs to react to an event.
- Keep gameplay off the garbage-collected raw pointer across a frame without a UPROPERTY or TWeakObjectPtr.
- Name types with the project's prefix if it has one.
- Hot-reload limitations are real. A header change may need a full rebuild.

## Testing

Add or update tests when behavior changes.

Add an Unreal automation test when the rule is pure C++. Otherwise say which PIE case you ran.

## Style

- Optimize for the next reader over the shortest diff.
- Comment only when the why is non-obvious.
- Name things the way neighboring files already do.
- Do not reformat code you did not change.

## Errors

- Fail at the boundary. Do not swallow errors.
- Use `ensure` or a logged early return for a missing asset. Do not check() on data a content change can break.

## Scope

- Do the requested task. Do not refactor unrelated code.
- Match the rigor already in the repo. Fix what you touch.
- Ask one clarifying question only when the task cannot be finished without it. Otherwise state the assumption and continue.

## Avoid

- Do not call into UObjects from a worker thread.
- Do not store a raw UObject pointer in a non-reflected struct and expect it to stay alive.
- Do not edit generated files under Intermediate.
- Do not commit Binaries, DerivedDataCache, or Saved unless the project already vendors a specific binary.

## Done when

- The requested behavior works.
- The editor target compiles and the automation test or PIE session for the change was run.
- The diff stays inside the task.
- You list anything you could not run.

Add it to the project

  1. 01

    Copy a starting file

    Copy the example Cline rules on this page, or open the generator if you want different testing, strictness, or comment rules.

  2. 02

    Save it at .clinerules

    Save it as `.clinerules` at the root of the Unreal repo. If you use Roo Code rules per folder, copy the body to `.roo/rules/project.md` as well.

  3. 03

    Start a fresh agent session

    Rules files are read when a session starts. A chat that is already open may still be using the old instructions.

  4. 04

    Give it one small task

    Ask for one change a Unreal agent often gets wrong, such as a UPROPERTY that is visible to the editor without a raw new of a UObject. If it ignores the file, confirm the path and start a new session.

Questions about this file

Where do I put Cline rules in a Unreal repo?

Save it as `.clinerules` at the root of the Unreal repo. If you use Roo Code rules per folder, copy the body to `.roo/rules/project.md` as well.

Which tools read this Cline rules?

Cline reads `.clinerules`. Roo Code reads `.clinerules` and can also load `.roo/rules`. Other agents ignore this filename.

What does the Unreal example assume?

The example assumes Unreal Engine with C++ gameplay code. It does not assume a particular networking model, Enhanced Input, or GAS unless the module already uses them.

Does VibeSpell upload my repository?

No. Recipe pages are static, and the generator builds the file in your browser from the options you pick. Your source code never leaves the machine.

Other files for Unreal

Cline rules for other stacks