AI Command Rules

AI Command Rules

A skill for writing precise, environment-aware shell commands and scripts that work correctly the first time across Windows, Linux, macOS, sandboxes, virtual environments, and containers.

Core Principle

Always detect the environment before writing a command. Never assume. A command that works on Linux bash will silently fail or behave differently on Windows CMD, PowerShell, or macOS zsh. When in doubt, ask or emit environment-adaptive commands.

Step 1: Detect the Environment

Before writing any command, identify:

If uncertain, emit a detection snippet first:

# Universal OS+shell detector (paste in terminal first)
echo "OS: $(uname -s 2>/dev/null || echo Windows)"
echo "Shell: $SHELL"
echo "Python: $(python --version 2>&1 || python3 --version 2>&1)"

Step 2: Environment-Specific Rules

Read the relevant reference file before emitting commands:

• Linux / macOS / bash / zsh → references/unix.md
• Windows CMD / PowerShell / WSL → references/windows.md
• Docker / containers / sandboxes → references/containers.md
• Python / virtual environments → references/python-env.md
• SSH / remote execution → references/ssh-remote.md
• Git → references/git.md

For cross-platform tasks, read all relevant files.

Step 3: Command Writing Checklist

Before emitting any command block, verify:

✅ Shell Compatibility

• Correct quoting style for target shell (single vs double vs backtick)
• Path separator correct (/ vs \)
• Line continuation correct (\ bash vs ` PowerShell)
• Variable syntax correct ($VAR bash vs $env:VAR PowerShell vs %VAR% CMD)
• Logical operators correct (&& / || bash vs -and / -or PowerShell)

✅ Error Handling

• Long scripts use set -euo pipefail (bash) or $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop' (PS)
• Destructive commands (rm, del, DROP) have a dry-run or confirmation step
• Commands that may fail silently have explicit exit code checks

✅ Permissions & Privileges

• sudo / su used only when needed; never prefix everything with sudo
• Windows: flag if Admin PowerShell is required
• Docker: flag if --privileged or volume mounts need host permission

✅ Environment Isolation

• Python commands use the correct interpreter (python vs python3 vs ./venv/bin/python)
• npm/node commands run inside the correct project directory
• Docker commands target the correct container/image name

✅ Cross-Platform Output

• If user may run on multiple OSes, provide alternatives (see formats below)

Step 4: Output Formats

Single environment — emit one block with a label:

```bash  # Linux / macOS
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
```

Cross-platform — emit tabbed alternatives:

**Linux / macOS (bash/zsh)**
```bash
python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
```

**Windows (PowerShell)**
```powershell
python -m venv .venv; .\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
```

**Windows (CMD)**
```cmd
python -m venv .venv && .venv\Scripts\activate.bat
```

Agentic / AI coding context — always add safety guards:

```bash
set -euo pipefail          # Exit on error, undefined vars, pipe failures
# ... rest of script
```

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Sandbox / Restricted Environment Rules

When Claude itself is executing commands (Claude Code, agentic pipelines, sandboxed VMs):

1. Probe before assuming — run which, command -v, or Get-Command to verify tool availability
2. No interactive prompts — use -y, --yes, --non-interactive, -f flags
3. Absolute paths preferred — don't rely on PATH being correct
4. Temp files — write to /tmp (Linux) or $env:TEMP (Windows), not current directory
5. Network — check if egress is allowed before running curl, pip install, npm install
6. No sudo in containers — usually running as root already; sudo may not exist

Quick Reference: Shell Detection Snippets

# Detect if running inside Docker
[ -f /.dockerenv ] && echo "In Docker" || echo "Not Docker"

# Detect OS in bash
case "$(uname -s)" in
  Linux*)   OS=Linux ;;
  Darwin*)  OS=Mac ;;
  CYGWIN*|MINGW*|MSYS*) OS=Windows ;;
esac

# Detect active Python venv
[ -n "$VIRTUAL_ENV" ] && echo "venv: $VIRTUAL_ENV" || echo "No venv active"

# Detect conda env
[ -n "$CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV" ] && echo "conda: $CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV"

# PowerShell: detect version
$PSVersionTable.PSVersion

# PowerShell: detect if running as Admin
([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal][Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator)

Source: russodope/ai-cli-kit — distributed by TomeVault.