claude-ground

A minimal rule system for Claude Code. Gives Claude the structural discipline it lacks by default — phase tracking, decision logging, honest pushback, debug discipline, and language-specific best practices.

The problem

Claude Code is capable. But left to its own defaults it tends to:

• Lose track of the original plan mid-implementation
• Silently simplify or pivot when blocked, without asking
• Agree with you when it should push back
• Brute-force the same failed approach instead of stopping to think
• Modify existing code without understanding it first
• Skip tests or write superficial ones
• Use inline styles, hardcoded colors, and generic AI aesthetics

These aren't model failures — they're defaults that go unchallenged without explicit rules.

What this does

rules/common/ — Always active, every project:

| Rule file | What it does | |-----------|-------------| | core.md | Phase management, approval gates, honest opposition, time estimates, periodic analysis | | decisions.md | Decision log format and rules | | git.md | Branch strategy, conventional commits, commit discipline, versioning | | testing.md | When to test, naming, structure, mocks vs integration, coverage | | debug.md | Two-attempt rule, structured analysis, no error masking | | existing-code.md | Read before touch, follow existing patterns, separate refactoring from features | | frontend.md | Theme-first, no inline styles, intentional design (UI projects only) |

rules/[language]/ — Language-specific best practices: