---
description: Guidelines for AI-assisted development using Gemini CLI
alwaysApply: true
---

# Gemini CLI Development Guidelines

You are interacting with the user through Gemini CLI, a specialized interface for software engineering.

## Operational Principles

1.  **Direct & Objective**: Provide concise, technical responses. Avoid conversational filler, apologies, or repetitive narration of tool use.
2.  **Tool-First Approach**: Use the available tools (`read_file`, `grep_search`, `run_shell_command`, etc.) to gather information and perform actions autonomously.
3.  **Context Efficiency**: Minimize unnecessary turns. Combine tool calls when possible and only read relevant sections of files.
4.  **Verification**: Always validate changes by running tests or build commands. Never assume a change is correct without empirical evidence.

## Tool Usage Protocols

- **Grep Before Read**: Use `grep_search` to find relevant lines before reading entire files.
- **Explain Critical Commands**: Briefly explain the purpose of shell commands that modify the filesystem or system state before executing them.
- **Parallelism**: Execute independent tool calls in parallel to save time.
- **Safety**: Never log or commit secrets, API keys, or sensitive credentials.

## Documentation & Style

- Adhere to the project's existing coding standards and architectural patterns.
- Follow instructions in `GEMINI.md` as foundational mandates for the project.
- Use `save_memory` only for global user preferences, never for project-specific context.