Skip to content

RULES.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
200 lines (138 loc) · 7.37 KB

RULES.md

File metadata and controls

200 lines (138 loc) · 7.37 KB
Raw

RULES.md — littleagents (English, codex-ready, playful)

This is the single-source rulebook Codex / Cursor will read before editing only README.md. Make the blog feel human, useful, and shareable — with short, witty one-liners for each tool and niche, human categories like Last-Minute Deadline Tools or Coffee-Fueled Prototyping.

Short version: Codex edits only README.md, follows the templates below, uses FASTLANE badges, writes a 1-line witty tagline for each tool, and is brutally honest about limits.

⸻

  1. Purpose & Ground Rules • Single source: All content lives in README.md. Do not create or edit other files. • Tone: Playful, slightly snarky, builder-first. Think: helpful friend who codes at 2am. • Ethos: No hype. Numbers > adjectives. Be useful, not buzzwordy. • Humor rule: Every tool must include a short witty one-liner (≤12 words) before the details. Keeps readers smiling and shareable.

⸻

  1. Required README structure (must exist, create if missing)
    1. Title + 1-line hook
    2. Short intro + why this repo exists
    3. Table of Contents (ToC) (auto-update if missing)
    4. Category sections (see niche list below)
    5. Combo Plays (one combo for every ≈5 tools in a category)
    6. Delta Log (weekly changelog; newest first)
    7. Contribute / Issue templates summary
    8. License / Credits

⸻

  1. Niche category examples (human, contextual)

Use these (or similar) — categories should feel like real workflows: • Coding • Last-Minute Deadline Tools (for shipping yesterday’s MVP) • Coffee-Fueled Prototyping (quick GUI / demo builders) • Agent Playgrounds & Orchestration • Research / Data Wrangling • Design & Media • Ops & Automation • Business / Growth Hacking • Weird & Wonderful (weird tools people love)

Pick categories that sound like someone telling a friend which tool to reach for.

⸻

  1. Entry format (exact — copy/paste into README)

Place each tool entry in its category exactly like this:

Tool Name — One-liner (witty, ≤12 words)

[status: UNVERIFIED — {YYYY-MM-DD}] [agent: API={yes|no} webhooks={yes|no}] [latency={S|M|L}] [friction={low|med|high}]

What it does: 1–2 lines, concrete. Why it matters: 1 line tied to a real outcome (ship faster, reduce cost, automate gruntwork). Free-tier ceiling: short: e.g., “100 queries/day; 5 projects.” If unknown, write guess. Agent-readiness: API? Webhooks? Best fit (brief). How to use (Recipe): 3 numbered steps for a realistic agent-ish flow. Where it breaks: 1–2 honest failure points (rate limits, export, hallucination). Required. Alternatives: 1–2 names (when to pick them). Keep / Skip: One crisp sentence for when this is useful vs. when to avoid it.

Length: aim for 120–220 words total (excluding the one-liner and metadata line). Links: link to official docs. No affiliate links.

If status = verified, append:

Quick Benchmark (≤2 min): Task; Time (mm:ss); Quality (1–5); Sample output (1–2 lines).

⸻

  1. Status badges (FASTLANE)

Use these exact badge strings in the metadata line: • UNVERIFIED — AI-drafted, not bench-run. Add date. • VERIFIED — 2-minute bench with Quick Benchmark block. Add date. • CATALOG — single line + link, community verification wanted.

Examples:

[status: UNVERIFIED — 2025-09-04] [agent: API=yes webhooks=no] [latency=M] [friction=med]

⸻

  1. Combo Play format (insert after ~every 5 tools in a category)

Combo: {Tool A} → {Tool B} → {Tool C} — One-liner goal

Goal: measurable outcome (e.g., “Generate landing page + deploy, under 10 minutes”). Steps: 1. Input → output (exact prompts/files). 2. Input → output. 3. Finalize/deploy. Free-tier blockers: short list. [status: UNVERIFIED — {YYYY-MM-DD}]

Combos add practical value. Keep them tight and runnable.

⸻

  1. ToC & Delta Log rules • ToC must link to categories; update if you add/remove a category. • Delta Log must be present at README bottom. Each entry: YYYY-MM-DD — Added: {n} tools; Verified: {slugs}; Removed: {slugs}; Notable combo: {slug} • Prepend new Delta Log lines (newest on top). Keep it short.

⸻

  1. Scoring & quick classification • Latency: S <5s, M 5–15s, L >15s (write guess if untested). • Friction: low = SSO/no card; med = email verify; high = card/manual approval. • Quality (verified only): 1–5 (1 unusable — 5 publishable).

⸻

  1. Style & voice • First-person plural is OK (“we tried this”); keep it practical. • No marketing ads; no promotional copy. • Use ASCII fallback if diacritics fail. • Keep the witty one-liner short and human.

⸻

  1. Codex / Cursor task prompts (copy-paste ready)

A) Add a new tool (UNVERIFIED)

Add a new tool entry under the "{CATEGORY}" section of README.md using the exact template. Write a witty one-liner (≤12 words). If any detail is unsure, mark it as "guess". Set status to UNVERIFIED with today's date {TODAY_YYYY-MM-DD}. Do not create new files. Update ToC if needed.

B) Promote to VERIFIED (mini-bench present)

Find the entry for "{TOOL}" in README.md. Append the Quick Benchmark block with: Task, Time (mm:ss), Quality (1–5), Sample output (1–2 lines). Change status to VERIFIED with today's date. Remove any "guess" tags that are resolved.

C) Insert a Combo Play

After every 5 entries in the "{CATEGORY}" section, insert one Combo Play following the combo template. Be explicit about inputs/outputs and note free-tier blockers. Set status UNVERIFIED unless a real run is shown.

D) Update Delta Log

Prepend today's delta line in README.md under "## Delta Log": YYYY-MM-DD — Added: {n} tools; Verified: {slugs}; Removed: {slugs}; Notable combo: {slug} Keep it concise and factual.

E) Clean / Consistency pass

Scan README.md for duplicates, missing "Where it breaks", missing one-liners, or misformatted status badges. Fix formatting to match templates. Ensure ToC links match headings.

⸻

  1. Contribution / moderation basics • PRs must follow the exact template (Codex can create content but humans merge). • Reject additions that: lack “Where it breaks”, are duplicate entries, or contain hype without evidence. • Community verification via Issues: include verify_tool issue with mini-bench data.

⸻

  1. Quick automation tips (optional) • If networked: run 1-line latency checks for API tools and add latency guess→measured. • Encourage community to run verify_tool issue template to change UNVERIFIED → VERIFIED.

⸻

  1. Deal breakers (auto-reject) • Missing “Where it breaks”. • Affiliate links, paid-only gate without note, or marketing fluff. • Duplicate tools. • Creating files other than README.md.

⸻

  1. Quick checklist for any commit to README.md • One-liner present for every tool • Status badge present and correct format • “Where it breaks” filled • ToC updated • Delta Log prepended with today’s line (if this commit adds/removes/verifies) • Links point to official docs (not blogspam)

⸻

  1. Final notes (keep it human)

This repo should feel like a friend who eats, codes, drinks too much coffee, and says exactly which tool to use when the deadline is on fire. Make entries helpful, honest, and sharable — and always keep the playful one-liner.

⸻

If you like, I’ll now: • convert this into a rules.md file ready to paste into the repo, and • generate the first 10 tool entries in English with witty one-liners and UNVERIFIED badges so Codex can start expanding README.md. Which do you want me to do next?