# Gate Configuration Reference
> Status: canonical
Full schema for defining reusable quality gates in `resources/gates/{id}/gate.yaml`.
## Why This Matters
| Problem | Solution | Result |
|---------|----------|--------|
| **Ad-Hoc Review** | Standardized Config | Same quality bar across the team |
| **Silent Failures** | Severity Levels | Block critical issues, warn on minor ones |
| **Repetition** | Auto-Activation | Gates apply automatically by category |
---
## Root Fields
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `id` | `string` | **Yes** | Unique ID (e.g., `code-quality`). |
| `name` | `string` | **Yes** | Human-readable name. |
| `type` | `string` | No | `validation` (checks) or `guidance` (hints). |
| `description` | `string` | No | Tooltip description. |
| `guidanceFile` | `string` | No | Path to markdown file with instructions. |
| `severity` | `string` | No | `critical`, `high`, `medium`, `low`. Default: `medium`. |
| `enforcementMode` | `string` | No | `blocking` (must pass), `advisory` (warn only). |
---
## Activation Rules
When does this gate apply automatically?
| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `prompt_categories` | `string[]` | Auto-apply to prompts in these folders (e.g., `code`). |
| `explicit_request` | `boolean` | If `true`, only applies when user asks (e.g., `pr-review`). |
| `framework_context` | `string[]` | Applies when using these frameworks (e.g., `CAGEERF`). |
### Example
```yaml
activation:
prompt_categories: ["development", "api"]
framework_context: ["ReACT"]
```
---
## Pass Criteria & Retries
Define how strict the gate is.
```yaml
pass_criteria:
- type: content_check
min_length: 100
forbidden_patterns: ["eval(", "innerHTML"]
retry_config:
max_attempts: 2
improvement_hints: true
```
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `required_patterns` | Strings that MUST appear in the output. |
| `forbidden_patterns` | Strings that MUST NOT appear. |
| `max_attempts` | How many times Claude retries before failing. |
| `improvement_hints` | Feed validation errors back into the retry prompt. |
