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Kilocode Rules Migration

This document explains how Kilocode rules are automatically migrated to Opencode's instructions config array.

Overview

Kilocode stores rules in various file locations. When Opencode starts, it reads these files and injects their paths into the instructions config array, which Opencode then loads as part of the system prompt.

Key Guarantees

1. Read-Only Migration

The migration never modifies project files. We only:

  • Read existing rule files from disk
  • Inject file paths into the config's instructions array
  • Never write to the project or modify any files

2. Combines with Existing Config (Never Overwrites)

If you have existing opencode config with instructions, the Kilocode rules are combined, not replaced:

// Example: User has opencode.json with:
{ "instructions": ["AGENTS.md", "custom-rules.md"] }

// Kilocode rules add:
{ "instructions": [".kilocoderules", ".kilocode/rules/coding.md"] }

// Result (combined, deduplicated):
{ "instructions": ["AGENTS.md", "custom-rules.md", ".kilocoderules", ".kilocode/rules/coding.md"] }

3. Restart to Pick Up Changes

If you change your Kilocode configuration (e.g., edit .kilocoderules), simply restart kilo-cli to pick up the new config. No manual migration or conversion needed.

Source Locations

The migrator reads rules from these locations:

Project Rules

Location Description
.kilocoderules Legacy single-file rules in project root
.kilocode/rules/*.md Directory-based rules (multiple markdown files)
.kilocoderules-{mode} Mode-specific legacy rules (e.g., .kilocoderules-code)
.kilocode/rules-{mode}/*.md Mode-specific rule directories

Global Rules

Location Description
~/.kilocode/rules/*.md Global rules directory

File Mapping

Kilocode Location Opencode Equivalent
.kilocoderules instructions: [".kilocoderules"]
.kilocoderules-{mode} instructions: [".kilocoderules-{mode}"]
.kilocode/rules/*.md instructions: [".kilocode/rules/file.md", ...]
.kilocode/rules-{mode}/*.md instructions: [".kilocode/rules-{mode}/file.md", ...]
~/.kilocode/rules/*.md instructions: ["~/.kilocode/rules/file.md", ...]

AGENTS.md Compatibility

AGENTS.md is loaded natively by Opencode - no migration needed. Opencode automatically loads:

  • AGENTS.md in project root
  • CLAUDE.md in project root
  • ~/.opencode/AGENTS.md (global)

Not Migrated

The following are not migrated:

  • .roorules - Roo-specific rules
  • .clinerules - Cline-specific rules

Only Kilocode-specific files (.kilocoderules, .kilocode/rules/) are migrated.

Mode-Specific Rules

Mode-specific rules (e.g., .kilocoderules-code, .kilocode/rules-architect/) are included by default. All mode-specific rules are loaded regardless of the current mode.

Warnings

The migrator generates warnings for:

  • Legacy files: When .kilocoderules is found, a warning suggests migrating to .kilocode/rules/ directory structure

Example

Before (Kilocode)

project/
├── .kilocoderules           # Legacy rules
├── .kilocoderules-code      # Code-mode specific
└── .kilocode/
    └── rules/
        ├── coding.md        # Coding standards
        └── testing.md       # Testing guidelines

After (Opencode Config)

{
  "instructions": [
    "/path/to/project/.kilocode/rules/coding.md",
    "/path/to/project/.kilocode/rules/testing.md",
    "/path/to/project/.kilocoderules",
    "/path/to/project/.kilocoderules-code"
  ]
}

Troubleshooting

Rules not appearing

  1. Check the file exists at the expected location
  2. Ensure markdown files have .md extension
  3. Restart kilo-cli to pick up changes

Duplicate rules

The mergeConfigConcatArrays function automatically deduplicates the instructions array using Array.from(new Set([...])).

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