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Admins can create, edit, enable, approve, and delete rules.
Members can generate rules in the portal; however, these rules appear in the Suggestions tab and require admin approval before becoming active. Members can also view active rules, suggested rules, and review rule outcomes during code reviews.

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Anatomy of a rule

A rule consists of the following fields:
FieldDescriptionDetails
Rule nameShort, descriptive title summarizing the rule’s intent.Shown in the Rules table and in code review findings.
Rule contentEnforcement description used during reviews.Explains what to check and what behavior is expected.
ExamplesCompliant and non-compliant code examples.Displayed to developers when violations occur.
CategoryType of issue the rule addresses.Security, Correctness, Quality, Reliability, Performance, Testability, Compliance, Accessibility, Observability, Architecture.
SeverityPriority level of a violation.Error (action required), Warning (recommended), Recommendation (informational).
ScopeWhere the rule is enforced.Can be left empty to apply organization-wide, or limited to specific Git organizations, repositories, and optional path patterns.
Rule scope Scope defines where the rule is enforced. By default, a rule applies organization-wide. You can narrow the scope to limit enforcement:
  • Organization — leave the scope empty to apply the rule to all repositories across all Git organizations.
  • Git organization — applies the rule to selected Git organizations.
  • Repository — applies only to selected repositories.
  • Path patterns — applies to specific directories or files within a repository. Path patterns are optional and can only be added after selecting a repository, and are especially useful for monorepos where different projects or services live under the same repository.
Rules extracted from supported files (such as AGENTS.md) are automatically scoped to the folder containing that file, with no additional portal configuration needed.

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Generate a rule

Use this flow to describe a rule in natural language and let Qodo agent generate a structured draft.

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Step 1: Start rule generation

1

From Rules, click Generate.

2

Enter a short description of the rule’s intent.

3

Click Generate rule.

Example prompts:
  • “Disallow console.log in production builds”
  • “Avoid SQL string concatenation with user input”
Generate rule dialog in Qodo portal with natural language description input field

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Step 2: Review the generated rule draft

Qodo generates a complete rule draft that can be edited before activation. Before activation, Qodo checks for:
  • Conflicts
  • Duplicates
  • Overlapping scope
You can review related rules or revise the draft.

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Step 4: Accept and activate

  1. Click Accept & activate to enable enforcement.
The rule is added to the Rules table and enforced automatically according to its defined scope (repositories and optional path patterns).
Generated rule draft preview showing name, content, and examples ready for review

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Manage existing rules

Management actions for existing rules are available from the actions menu (⋮) in the Rules table. These actions are optional and can be performed at any time by admins or team admins. Editing a rule - Editing an existing rule. Enabling or disabling a rule - Disabling pauses enforcement while retaining history. Deleting a rule - Deletion is permanent and irreversible.

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Best practices for maintenance

  • Edit instead of duplicating
  • Disable before deleting
  • Keep scopes narrow
  • Periodically review low-signal rules

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Automatic rule updates from files

Qodo continuously monitors the supported rule files across your repositories. When changes to these files are merged to your repository, or when a new supported file is added, Qodo processes the diff and automatically adds new rules to the Rule System as active rules. The scope of extracted rules is automatically determined by the file’s location in the repository. New rules added this way are:
  • Added directly as active rules
  • Enriched with category, severity, scope, and examples
Only new rules are added. Edits and deletions to existing rules in these files are not reflected in the Rule System. To modify or remove a rule, use the Rules portal directly.
Single-tenant customersIf you installed Qodo before the new setup wizard was introduced, your GitHub App may not have the Push event subscription enabled. Without it, Qodo cannot detect changes to supported rule files.To enable it:
  1. Go to your GitHub App settings page.
  2. Select Permissions & events.
  3. Scroll to Subscribe to events.
  4. Check Push.
  5. Click Save changes.
For more details, see GitHub’s documentation.

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Fetch rules using get-qodo-rules skill

Supported AI coding agents can access your Rule System directly using the get-qodo-rules skill. The skill fetches repository specific rules from the Qodo platform API, including organization, repository, and path level rules, and loads them into the agent context. This allows the agent to reference the same rules that are defined in Qodo. This capability is optional and does not replace Qodo’s rule enforcement. It enables agents to use the rules already configured for the repository. Using the skill requires a Qodo API key and rules configured in the Qodo platform. For more details go to the open-source installation instructions.