Rules
Rules are instructions the agent reads at the start of every chat in the project: conventions, commands, things to avoid. Piye reads:
.piye/rules.mdand the files in.piye/rules/;- the files other tools use:
AGENTS.md,CLAUDE.md,GEMINI.md,.cursorrules,.windsurfrulesand.github/copilot-instructions.md; - rule folders with their own front matter (which files a rule applies to, whether it always applies):
.cursor/rules/*.mdcand.claude/rules/*.md.
In a monorepo, each app's own rule files are read too (for example apps/web/AGENTS.md), so an app keeps its own instructions.
A project set up for another tool works in Piye as it is. To write rules just for Piye, use .piye/rules.md.
Rules the agent saves
Ask the agent to remember a way of working ("always run the type check before saying it's done"), and it saves it as a working rule in .piye/rules/working-rules.md. Each saved rule shows in the chat as its own line, with Undo.
Rules that arrived with the project (a clone, a pull), which Piye didn't save at your request, are given to the agent as the project's text, not as your instructions, and never followed if they would send data out.
Memory
The agent keeps notes about the project between chats in .piye/memory/notes.md: what it learned, decisions made, where things are. A saved note shows in the chat with Undo. Chats and memory stay on your computer and are never sent by Handoff.
Skills
A skill is a set of instructions for a job you repeat, like a release, a checkout flow or a migration. The agent uses a skill when the job comes up, or when you ask for it by name.
A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file: front matter with its name and a line saying when to use it, then the instructions. This is the same open format Claude Code and Codex read.
Where skills come from
| Source | Where |
|---|---|
| The project | .piye/skills/, .claude/skills/ and .agents/skills/ |
| Built in | Piye's own guides for the stacks it knows: Next.js, Expo, Angular, NestJS, Vite (TypeScript), React with Vite, Turborepo, FastAPI, SwiftUI and Android (Jetpack Compose). A project gets the ones that fit its stack. |
| OXP | Skills installed on this computer from oxp.sh |
Manage skills
In Piye Studio, the Skills panel lists a project's skills by source: switch one off for the project (saved in .piye/skills.json), create a new one ("Give it a name, like ship-release", then say when Piye should use it), or install skills others publish on oxp.sh.
Skills are for the Code agent. Visual's agent builds with Piye's own kits instead.