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Add Custom Code Rules

Custom Code Rules allow you to enforce team-specific coding standards and patterns unique to your organization. Create rules that detect specific code patterns, enforce naming conventions, or flag architectural violations that aren't covered by default checks.

What are Custom Code Rules?

Custom Code Rules are AI-powered checks that you define to match your team's specific requirements. Unlike default checks that apply general best practices, custom rules enforce standards unique to your codebase, architecture, or business logic.

If you want to implement global or repo-specific guidelines, check out our Code Context functionality.

Creating a Custom Code Rule

1

Define your rule

  1. Navigate to Code Quality > Checks tab

  2. Click Add Custom Code Rule

  3. Write a clear description of what the rule should detect:

Example:

AskCopy
Allow only Alpine base images in Dockerfiles as base images
2

Select target languages

Choose which programming languages this rule applies to

3

Generate and refine examples

  • Click Generate Examples to let AI create initial code samples

  • Review and modify the generated examples

  • Provide both compliant and non-compliant examples:

Compliant example:

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# ✅ Code that follows the rule
FROM alpine:3.18
RUN apk add --no-cache nodejs

Non-compliant example:

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# ❌ Code that violates the rule
FROM ubuntu:latest
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install nodejs
4

Validate your rule

  1. Click Validate Rule to test your examples

  2. The system will verify that:

    • Your compliant examples pass the rule

    • Your non-compliant examples are correctly flagged

    • The rule logic is consistent and clear

  3. Adjust examples if validation fails

5

Configure rule details

Once validated, provide additional information about your rule:

  1. Title: Give your rule a clear, descriptive name

    AskCopy
    Use Alpine base images in Docker containers

  2. TL;DR: Write a brief summary of the issue

    AskCopy
    Non-Alpine base images increase container size and attack surface

  3. How to fix: Provide actionable guidance for developers

    AskCopy
    Replace your base image with an Alpine Linux variant. For example, change 'FROM node:18' to 'FROM node:18-alpine'. You may need to adjust package installation commands from apt-get to apk.

  4. Click Save Rule to activate it

Your custom rule will now appear in the Checks tab and begin scanning new pull requests in enabled repositories.

Writing effective Custom Rules

Be specific and clear

❌ Too vague:

AskCopy
Use proper error handling

✅ Specific and actionable:

AskCopy
All API endpoints must wrap database calls in try-catch blocks and return 
standardized error responses with status codes

Focus on patterns, not style

Custom rules work best for detecting logical patterns rather than formatting:

✅ Good custom rule candidates:

  • API authentication requirements

  • Database transaction patterns

  • Security header implementations

  • Business logic validations

❌ Better handled by linters:

  • Indentation and spacing

  • Bracket placement

  • Variable naming style

Common Custom Rule examples

Security rules

Architecture rules

API standards

Testing requirements

Documentation standards

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