---
trigger: always_on
---
All AI agents must adhere to the following rules for this project:
- Always use the virtual environment for any operations to ensure isolated dependencies.
- Create code as simply as possible, with future testing in mind to maintain readability and extensibility.
- When creating new functions, design and implement corresponding tests simultaneously to ensure functionality is verified.
- When modifying existing functions, update associated tests in tandem to maintain test coverage and catch regressions.
- Adhere to unified coding guidelines' core principles, prioritizing clarity, readability, and maintainability.
- Follow Python-specific conventions, such as PEP 8 for style and formatting.
- Implement robust error handling with clear messages and fail-fast strategies.
- Enforce security practices, including input validation and avoiding hardcoding sensitive data; allow .env files for sensitive data only if a .gitignore file excludes them and other sensitive files from version control.
- Ensure modularity with small, focused functions and loose coupling for easy extensibility.
- When applicable, provide commit messages with allowed prefixes (e.g., feat, fix) as per guidelines, without using terminal Git commands in Cascade chat.
- Group all new changes into a single pull request (PR), even if composed of multiple commits, and scope the PR appropriately (e.g., for debugging, troubleshooting, adding a feature, or fixing an issue).