AGENTS.md

OpenSpec Instructions

These instructions are for AI assistants working in this project.

Always open @/openspec/AGENTS.md when the request:

• Mentions planning or proposals (words like proposal, spec, change, plan)
• Introduces new capabilities, breaking changes, architecture shifts, or big performance/security work
• Sounds ambiguous and you need the authoritative spec before coding

Use @/openspec/AGENTS.md to learn:

• How to create and apply change proposals
• Spec format and conventions
• Project structure and guidelines

Keep this managed block so 'openspec update' can refresh the instructions.

Usage Rules

IMPORTANT: Consult these usage rules early and often when working with the packages listed below. Before attempting to use any of these packages or to discover if you should use them, review their usage rules to understand the correct patterns, conventions, and best practices.

usage_rules usage

A dev tool for Elixir projects to gather LLM usage rules from dependencies

Using Usage Rules

Many packages have usage rules, which you should thoroughly consult before taking any action. These usage rules contain guidelines and rules directly from the package authors. They are your best source of knowledge for making decisions.

Modules & functions in the current app and dependencies

When looking for docs for modules & functions that are dependencies of the current project, or for Elixir itself, use mix usage_rules.docs

# Search a whole module
mix usage_rules.docs Enum

# Search a specific function
mix usage_rules.docs Enum.zip

# Search a specific function & arity
mix usage_rules.docs Enum.zip/1

Searching Documentation

You should also consult the documentation of any tools you are using, early and often. The best way to accomplish this is to use the usage_rules.search_docs mix task. Once you have found what you are looking for, use the links in the search results to get more detail. For example:

# Search docs for all packages in the current application, including Elixir
mix usage_rules.search_docs Enum.zip

# Search docs for specific packages
mix usage_rules.search_docs Req.get -p req

# Search docs for multi-word queries
mix usage_rules.search_docs "making requests" -p req

# Search only in titles (useful for finding specific functions/modules)
mix usage_rules.search_docs "Enum.zip" --query-by title

usage_rules:elixir usage

Elixir Core Usage Rules

Pattern Matching

• Use pattern matching over conditional logic when possible
• Prefer to match on function heads instead of using if/else or case in function bodies
• %{} matches ANY map, not just empty maps. Use map_size(map) == 0 guard to check for truly empty maps

Error Handling

• Use {:ok, result} and {:error, reason} tuples for operations that can fail
• Avoid raising exceptions for control flow
• Use with for chaining operations that return {:ok, _} or {:error, _}

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Elixir has no return statement, nor early returns. The last expression in a block is always returned.
• Don't use Enum functions on large collections when Stream is more appropriate
• Avoid nested case statements - refactor to a single case, with or separate functions
• Don't use String.to_atom/1 on user input (memory leak risk)
• Lists and enumerables cannot be indexed with brackets. Use pattern matching or Enum functions
• Prefer Enum functions like Enum.reduce over recursion
• When recursion is necessary, prefer to use pattern matching in function heads for base case detection
• Using the process dictionary is typically a sign of unidiomatic code
• Only use macros if explicitly requested
• There are many useful standard library functions, prefer to use them where possible

Function Design

• Use guard clauses: when is_binary(name) and byte_size(name) > 0
• Prefer multiple function clauses over complex conditional logic
• Name functions descriptively: calculate_total_price/2 not calc/2
• Predicate function names should not start with is and should end in a question mark.
• Names like is_thing should be reserved for guards

Data Structures

• Use structs over maps when the shape is known: defstruct [:name, :age]
• Prefer keyword lists for options: [timeout: 5000, retries: 3]
• Use maps for dynamic key-value data
• Prefer to prepend to lists [new | list] not list ++ [new]

Mix Tasks

• Use mix help to list available mix tasks
• Use mix help task_name to get docs for an individual task
• Read the docs and options fully before using tasks

Testing

• Run tests in a specific file with mix test test/my_test.exs and a specific test with the line number mix test path/to/test.exs:123
• Limit the number of failed tests with mix test --max-failures n
• Use @tag to tag specific tests, and mix test --only tag to run only those tests
• Use assert_raise for testing expected exceptions: assert_raise ArgumentError, fn -> invalid_function() end
• Use mix help test to for full documentation on running tests

Debugging

• Use dbg/1 to print values while debugging. This will display the formatted value and other relevant information in the console.

usage_rules:otp usage

OTP Usage Rules

GenServer Best Practices

• Keep state simple and serializable
• Handle all expected messages explicitly
• Use handle_continue/2 for post-init work
• Implement proper cleanup in terminate/2 when necessary

Process Communication

• Use GenServer.call/3 for synchronous requests expecting replies
• Use GenServer.cast/2 for fire-and-forget messages.
• When in doubt, use call over cast, to ensure back-pressure
• Set appropriate timeouts for call/3 operations

Fault Tolerance

• Set up processes such that they can handle crashing and being restarted by supervisors
• Use :max_restarts and :max_seconds to prevent restart loops

Task and Async

• Use Task.Supervisor for better fault tolerance
• Handle task failures with Task.yield/2 or Task.shutdown/2
• Set appropriate task timeouts
• Use Task.async_stream/3 for concurrent enumeration with back-pressure