agent-rules-mcp

Agent Rules MCP Server

This MCP server eliminates the need for local rule files in your workspace. Instead of copying coding standards into each project, you can now prompt AI agents to fetch specific coding rules or all your rules from any rules folder on a public repository or your own.

Features

GitHub Integration: Fetches rules from any GitHub repository
Simple Setup: Configure with environment variables, no local files needed
Configurable: Support for custom repositories, branches, and paths
Community Rules: Works with existing collections like awesome-cursorrules and awesome-copilot, etc.
Compound Extensions: Supports .chatmode.md, .prompt.md, .instructions.md files
Flexible Format: Supports any markdown files (.md/.mdc) with or without metadata

MCP Client Configuration (default)

Add this configuration to your MCP client (VS Code, Kiro, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-rules": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y","agent-rules-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_OWNER": "4regab",
        "GITHUB_REPO": "agent-rules-mcp",
        "GITHUB_PATH": "rules",
        "GITHUB_BRANCH": "master"
      },
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

Example Use of Community Rules Collections

GitHub Awesome Copilot Collection

Get instant access to community-maintained coding rules:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-rules": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y","agent-rules-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_OWNER": "github",
        "GITHUB_REPO": "awesome-copilot",         
        "GITHUB_PATH": "instructions",
        "GITHUB_BRANCH": "main"
      },
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

Awesome Cursor Rules Collection

Alternative collection for cursor-specific rules:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-rules": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y","agent-rules-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
         "GITHUB_OWNER": "PatrickJS",
         "GITHUB_REPO": "awesome-cursorrules",
         "GITHUB_PATH": "rules-new",
         "GITHUB_BRANCH": "main"
         }
       }
     }
   }

Available Tools

get_rules: Retrieves rule content for one or multiple domains from the GitHub repository rules folder.
list_rules: Lists all available rule domains with descriptions.

Using Your Own Rules Folder Repository (Recommended)

To use your own GitHub repository instead of the default:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agentrules": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y","agent-rules-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_OWNER": "your-username",
        "GITHUB_REPO": "your-rules-repo",
        "GITHUB_PATH": "your-rules-folder",
        "GITHUB_BRANCH": "main"
      },
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

Example repository structure:

my-coding-rules/
├── rules/                       # Traditional single directory
│   ├── python-style.md          # Standard markdown with metadata
│   ├── react-patterns.mdc       # MDC format supported
│   └── security-checklist.md    # With YAML frontmatter
├── README.md
└── .gitignore

How This Helps

On-Demand Rule Access for AI Agents

Before (Traditional Approach):

my-project/
├──rules                  ← Local rule files needed
│   ├── react-rules.md
│   ├── security-rules.md
│   └── typescript-rules.md
├── src/
└── package.json

After (agent-rules MCP Approach):

my-project/
├── src/
└── package.json          ← Clean workspace, no local rules needed

# In Coding Agent:
"Apply React best practices to this component"
→ Agent automatically fetches React rules from your rules folder

Flexible Support & File Format Compatibility

The server works with various file formats and naming conventions:

Supported Extensions:

.md - Standard markdown files
.mdc - MDC (Markdown Components) files
.chatmode.md - AI assistant mode definitions
.prompt.md - Prompt templates
.instructions.md - Coding instruction files

Automatic Metadata Extraction: If no explicit metadata is provided, the server will:

Extract the first heading as a title
Use the first paragraph as a description
Generate a fallback description based on the filename
Parse YAML frontmatter when available

Domain Name Handling:

accessibility.chatmode.md → domain: accessibility
react-best-practices.instructions.md → domain: react-best-practices
4.1-Beast.chatmode.md → domain: 4.1-Beast (supports dots and special chars)

This means you can use any existing markdown documentation as rules without modification.

Contributing

We welcome contributions to the default rule repository!

Clear Domain Names: Use descriptive, kebab-case filenames
Complete Metadata: Include description and last updated date
Quality Content: Provide actionable, well-organized rules with examples
Test Locally: Verify your rules work with the MCP server
Follow Format: Use standard markdown structure

Recommended Structure (for optimal metadata extraction):

# Title of the coding rules

- Last Updated: YYYY-MM-DD
- Description: Brief description of the rules (used in list_rules() responses)
- Version: X.X (optional, for tracking major changes)

## Content 

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

Issues: Report bugs and feature requests on GitHub Issues
Documentation: Check this README and inline code documentation

This server cannot be installed

security - not tested

license - permissive license

quality - not tested

How are these scores calculated?

remote-capable server

The server can be hosted and run remotely because it primarily relies on remote services or has no dependency on the local environment.

MCP server that enables your agents to use coding rules from any or your GitHub repository. Instead of workspace rules files, you can now prompt agents to access the your coding rules from any repository.

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