activation_mode
How rules decide when to load into context. Providers implement varying modes: always-on, conditional/glob-based, model-decision, and manual activation. Tracks which modes the provider supports and how they are configured.
Type: object Content type: rules
Provider Support
Section titled “Provider Support”| Provider | Supported | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| claude-code | ✓ | Always-on (CLAUDE.md loads at every session start); conditional via paths frontmatter in .claude/rules/*.md files (glob-based, triggers on file access) |
| cline | ✓ | conditional_rules_paths: Cline supports path-conditional rules alongside always-on rules; conditions use glob patterns |
| cursor | ✓ | Four activation modes documented: Always (alwaysApply: true injects rule into every prompt), Auto-Attached (globs frontmatter matches edited files), Agent Requested (description frontmatter triggers model to pull in the rule), and Manual (no frontmatter triggers, referenced explicitly with @ruleName). |
| kiro | ✓ | kiro_steering_inclusion_mode: Kiro steering files support always, conditional, and manual inclusion modes |
| roo-code | ✓ | mode_partitioned_activation: rule files in mode-specific directories (.roo/rules-<mode-slug>/) activate only when that mode is active; files in .roo/rules/ activate for all modes |
| windsurf | ✓ | activation_modes extension: always (unconditional), conditional (glob patterns), model (AI decides), manual (explicit toggle) |
| amp | ✗ | Amp rule files load unconditionally; no conditional or model-decision activation documented |
| codex | ✗ | Codex AGENTS.md files load unconditionally; no conditional or model-decision activation documented |
| copilot-cli | ✗ | Copilot CLI rules load unconditionally at session start; no conditional or manual activation modes documented |
| crush | ✗ | Crush rule files (AGENTS.md) load unconditionally as project context; no conditional activation syntax documented |
| factory-droid | ✗ | Factory Droid rule files load unconditionally; no conditional or model-decision activation documented |
| gemini-cli | ✗ | Gemini CLI rule files load unconditionally; no conditional activation syntax documented |
| opencode | ✗ | OpenCode rule files load unconditionally as context; no conditional activation syntax documented |
| pi | ✗ | Pi rule files load unconditionally; no conditional or model-decision activation documented |
| zed | ✗ | Zed rule files load unconditionally when present at project root; no conditional activation syntax documented |