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devin-rules-valid

Devin workspace rules must have valid activation frontmatter and fit its size limit
Severity error (auto)
Autofix -
Since v0.20.0
Repo Types devin
Category Devin

Why

Devin chooses when to load a workspace rule from the rule's YAML frontmatter. A malformed or unsupported trigger can leave an apparently authoritative file inactive. The activation data also depends on the mode: glob needs usable repository-relative patterns, while model_decision needs a description that lets the model route work to the rule.

Devin CLI reads rules below .devin/rules/ and the legacy .windsurf/rules/ spelling at the workspace root and in nested projects. Devin Desktop limits a workspace rule to 12,000 characters. Unknown frontmatter keys are accepted so a new upstream field does not make an otherwise valid rule fail.

Devin's documented bare glob scalar, such as globs: **/*.test.ts, parses even though strict YAML reserves a leading * for aliases. This exception applies only to the top-level globs value; unrelated malformed YAML is still reported. The scalar itself is an error: Devin Desktop may accept a single string, but the Devin CLI fails to load the rule ("expected a sequence"). A YAML list is the one form both hosts read.

Severity

Malformed YAML, an unsupported trigger, invalid activation data, and a rule over the configured character limit are errors because Devin may ignore the rule or be unable to activate it as intended.

trigger is optional. Without it Devin infers the mode: globs makes the rule glob-activated, a description makes it agent-decidable, and a rule with neither is manual (@rule). A rule that never activates on its own is reported at info level.

Examples

Bad — the glob escapes the repository:

---
trigger: glob
globs:
  - ../shared/**
---

Use the shared API conventions.

Good — a model-selected rule with routing context:

---
trigger: model_decision
description: Apply when changing public API response shapes.
---

Preserve backward compatibility for existing response fields.

How to fix

  • Set trigger to always_on, manual, model_decision, agent, or glob, or omit it and let Devin infer the mode from globs or description.
  • For glob, provide a non-empty YAML list of repository-relative patterns. Remove absolute paths and .. path segments.
  • For model_decision, add a non-empty string description that explains when the rule applies.
  • Split or shorten a rule that exceeds max-characters (12,000 by default), or configure that option when a different host limit applies.

Configuration

rules:
  devin-rules-valid:
    enabled: auto  # true | false | auto
    severity: error
Parameter Description Default
max-characters Maximum characters in one Devin Desktop workspace rule 12000

Run skillsaw explain devin-rules-valid to see this documentation and the rule's effective configuration in your terminal.