Follow up Kilo Code upstream updates: mode-specific rule directories (.kilo/rules-{mode}/) not authorable

[dyoshikawa]

Summary

One remaining Kilo Code gap after #2417's items were resolved: mode-specific rule directories (.kilo/rules-{mode}/) are read on every Kilo config load but cannot be authored from rulesync — a rulesync rule can only apply to all modes.

Baseline: #2417 surveyed through v7.4.16 (2026-07-24) and is closed; its remaining items are now implemented — the sandbox permissions block (with project-scope narrowing to enabled/network) and global non-root rules (~/.kilo/rules) are both in the codebase and visible in dry-runs. The only newer stable release, v7.4.17 (2026-07-29), adds no authorable config surface.

Recent Releases

• v7.4.17 (2026-07-29) — release — Agent Manager / VS Code UI work plus an OpenCode v1.17.5→v1.17.9 sync (PR #12460) of runtime MCP/provider bugfixes. No new config key or file surface.
• v7.4.15 (2026-07-22, PR #12422) — "project memory" rework; agent-managed runtime state, not a user-authored config file.

Gaps

rules — mode-specific rule directories (.kilo/rules-{mode}/) not authorable (project scope)

• Upstream (confirmed against main, 2026-07-30): packages/opencode/src/kilocode/rules-migrator.ts scans {.kilo,.kilocode}/rules-{mode}/*.md for KNOWN_MODES = ["code", "architect", "ask", "debug", "orchestrator"] and injects them as instructions. includeModeSpecific defaults to true and packages/opencode/src/kilocode/config/config.ts calls RulesMigrator.migrate({ projectDir }) with no options, so these directories are read on every config load — current behavior, not a one-shot legacy migration. Docs: custom instructions.
• rulesync: unsupported — KILO_RULES_DIR_NAME is the single "rules" (src/constants/kilo-paths.ts), and kilo-rule.ts has no mode dimension.
• Scope note: project only — the migrator's mode loop runs over projectDir and globalRulesDirs() has no mode variant.

Proposed Follow-up

Accept a kilo: { mode: "code" | "architect" | "ask" | "debug" | "orchestrator" } hint on a rulesync rule that routes the file into .kilo/rules-{mode}/ (and registers it in instructions), with the reverse mapping on import. Authoring-parity gap, not a correctness failure — same priority #2417 assigned it.

Non-gaps (verified, do not re-file)

• bug(kilo): a { enabled: false } MCP toggle entry aborts the entire --targets kilo run (+ sandbox block, steps type, global non-root rules) #2417 gap 2 (sandbox block): implemented — KiloPermissionsOverrideSchema carries sandbox, narrowSandboxToProjectScope() enforces the upstream scope rule (project keeps only enabled/network, with a warning), and the global dry-run writes .config/kilo/kilo.jsonc.
• bug(kilo): a { enabled: false } MCP toggle entry aborts the entire --targets kilo run (+ sandbox block, steps type, global non-root rules) #2417 gap 4 (global non-root rules): implemented — KiloRule.getSettablePaths({ global: true }) returns ~/.kilo/rules and the global dry-run emits them.
• commands: upstream globs {command,commands}/**/*.md in each config dir, so .kilo/commands/ and .config/kilo/commands/ are genuinely loaded.
• Legacy migrators (WorkflowsMigrator, ModesMigrator) convert legacy layouts into the native command/agent surfaces rulesync already writes.
• Config schema sweep (packages/core/src/v1/config/config.ts): no unhandled authorable key — new keys are model/UI/runtime tuning; sandbox still carries exactly the four known keys; mode is @deprecated in favor of agent, which rulesync already targets.
• checks: still no upstream surface.
• Both dry-runs clean (54 files each; ignore correctly project-only).

References

• https://kilo.ai/docs/customize/custom-instructions — documents mode-specific rule directories (the gap).
• https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode/releases/tag/v7.4.17 — the only stable release after bug(kilo): a { enabled: false } MCP toggle entry aborts the entire --targets kilo run (+ sandbox block, steps type, global non-root rules) #2417's survey window.
• packages/opencode/src/kilocode/rules-migrator.ts and packages/opencode/src/kilocode/config/config.ts on Kilo-Org/kilocode main — source evidence that mode-specific dirs load on every config load.