Inject project standards into each agent loop

What are project standards for AI coding agents?

Project standards are repo-specific rules, commands, conventions, and review expectations that an AI coding agent should follow during implementation. In Hal, standards help each story start with local context such as package manager, test command, architecture rules, and forbidden patterns.

What breaks without local rules

Agents can write plausible code that does not match the repo. They may choose the wrong package manager, miss the test command, invent folder patterns, or use a style the team already rejected.

Those mistakes are not always model failures. Often, the agent simply did not receive the local rules.

How Hal handles it

Hal includes project standards as part of the loop context so each story starts with the commands, conventions, and constraints that matter for this repo.

hal init
hal validate
hal run

The point is to make the expected way of working explicit before implementation begins.

What the developer gets

• Repeatable instructions for future loops.
• Fewer style and workflow surprises.
• A clearer review basis when the agent deviates.
• Standards that can evolve as the repo changes.

How to review standards

Ask whether each rule changes agent behavior. “Use our existing patterns” is weak. “Use Bun commands, keep Astro content pages in src/content, and run bun run build before finishing” is stronger.

What Hal does and does not do

Hal does	Hal does not do
Structures PRD-native coding loops around planning, validation, implementation, reporting, and reviewable state.	Guarantee code quality, passing tests, delivery speed, revenue, rankings, or production readiness.
Helps supported engines work against smaller, reviewable units of work.	Replace developer review, QA, security review, or merge judgment.

Sources and verification

Before adopting this workflow, verify the current Hal source repository, install docs, pricing status, and machine-readable pricing. Check release notes and engine support before relying on Hal in production work.