Why AI Won’t Follow Your Commands—and How a Simple “Rule” Manual Fixes It

When you ask an AI coding assistant to "write some code," it may output a React‑based solution with generic variable names like a, b, c, data1, data2 even though you work with Vue. Repeating your preferences each time quickly becomes exhausting.

Think of the AI as a world‑class chef who never received a menu: without knowing that you dislike cilantro, prefer Sichuan flavors, or have a specific signature dish, the chef will guess and often miss the mark. The missing piece is a "Rule" – a fixed behavior guide that the AI reads automatically at the start of every conversation.

Rule is a cross‑tool concept (called Rules in Cursor, Instructions in GitHub Copilot, or rules in CodeBuddy and Trae). By placing a file such as AGENTS.md or .cursor/rules/*.mdc in your project, the AI applies the same constraints globally, regardless of the tool you use.

Three scenarios where Rule shines:

Efficiency: Stop repeating statements like "I use Vue 3, prefer camelCase, and want Chinese comments"; a single Rule file handles them once.

Consistency: When multiple teammates generate code, a shared Rule ensures uniform indentation, naming, and style, eliminating merge‑time formatting wars.

Quality: By forbidding var, limiting function length, or enforcing const, the AI avoids recurring low‑level mistakes.

Rule differs from the previously introduced Skill. Rule is loaded automatically for every dialogue (global scope), while Skill is activated only for specific tasks (on‑demand). Rule files are typically AGENTS.md or .cursor/rules/*.mdc; Skill files are named skill.md or reside under .claude/skills/.

How to write your first Rule (in about five minutes):

我是一个前端开发，主要用 Vue 3 + TypeScript。

This single line tells the AI who you are, saving you from repeating the intro.

所有回答用中文。变量命名用 camelCase，组件命名用 PascalCase。不要用 var，优先用 const。

These conventions capture the most frequent corrections you make.

我的项目在 d:\code\my-app，用的是 Element Plus 组件库，UnoCSS 做样式。

Providing the project context lets the AI generate code that matches your stack.

Tool‑specific configuration (quick reference):

Trae (recommended): Settings → Rules → paste → save; or place AGENTS.md in the project root.

Cursor: Create .cursor/rules/*.mdc in the root or place AGENTS.md there; supports path‑based scoping.

GitHub Copilot: Add .github/copilot-instructions.md at repository level.

CodeBuddy: Add rule files under .codebuddy/rules/ (or use AGENTS.md).

通义灵码: Create .lingma/rules/ directory for project‑specific rules.

Data backs the impact: Cursor’s internal study shows that developers with well‑crafted Rules reduce code‑review iterations by roughly 40 %. The 2025 Stack Overflow survey reports 72 % of developers already use AI assistants. Over 60 k open‑source projects have adopted AGENTS.md, and OpenAI has donated the specification to the Linux Foundation for standardisation.

In short, good tools make you faster, but good Rules make the tools right. Write a simple rule now—e.g., "All answers must be in Chinese."—and experience an AI that finally listens.