# Discover Rule Topics > Discover potential rule topics by mining patterns across Shopify themes. Use when exploring what rules to write next, finding patterns in themes, or building a backlog of rule ideas. Complements research-shopify-rule and quick-rule by identifying topics rather than writing rules. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/discover-rule-topics` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/discover-rule-topics` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/discover-rule-topics/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Product & Planning - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/discover-rule-topics --- # Discover rule topics from Shopify themes You are exploring Shopify themes to discover patterns, techniques, and conventions that could become AI-consumable rules. Your goal is to enrich the topic backlog, NOT to write rules. The search focus is: **$ARGUMENTS** If `$ARGUMENTS` is empty or very broad (e.g., "general", "explore"), perform a wide exploration across multiple categories. If it names a specific area (e.g., "CSS patterns", "cart AJAX API", "metafield traversal"), focus your search on that domain. Read these files before starting: - [references/category-definitions.md](references/category-definitions.md) -- extended category taxonomy with search hints - [references/existing-coverage.md](references/existing-coverage.md) -- what Shopify's Horizon cursor rules already cover (avoid re-discovering these) - `rules/BACKLOG.md` -- existing topic backlog (don't re-discover these) - `rules/INDEX.md` -- completed rules (don't suggest already-covered topics) --- ## Phase 1 -- Orient 1. Parse `$ARGUMENTS` to determine the search scope: - **Focused**: a specific technology area, pattern type, or Shopify feature - **Broad**: no arguments, or a high-level term like "explore" or "general" 2. Read `rules/BACKLOG.md` to load existing topics. 3. Read `rules/INDEX.md` to load completed rules. 4. Check for Horizon cursor rule coverage using the three-level approach: - If `shopify-themes/horizon/` is present, list files in `shopify-themes/horizon/.cursor/rules/` for the latest coverage. - If Horizon is not present, consult `references/existing-coverage.md` for a summary of what Shopify's cursor rules cover. - Either way, also check `references/existing-coverage.md` for the "What is NOT covered" section -- these are prime opportunities for new rules. 5. Build an exclusion set from all sources -- these are topics you must NOT re-discover. ## Phase 2 -- Search Search across all themes in `shopify-themes/`. Use Explore agents to parallelize searches. If `shopify-themes/` is empty or contains no themes, lean on web research instead. Suggest the user adds themes to `shopify-themes/` for richer discovery -- see the project README for recommended themes (Dawn and Horizon as starting points). ### Search strategy by scope **If focused on a specific area:** - Use `references/category-definitions.md` to find the relevant search patterns - Deep-dive: search filenames, file contents, and comments across all themes - Compare how different themes solve the same problem - Note interesting variations and workarounds **If broad (no specific focus):** - Sample across multiple categories using the search hints in `references/category-definitions.md` - Prioritize areas with the most cross-theme variation - Look for patterns that combine multiple technologies (Liquid + CSS, Liquid + JS, etc.) - Start with `snippets/` and `assets/` directories for the richest pattern density ### General search techniques 1. **Filename patterns**: glob for files with meaningful names across themes - `shopify-themes/*/snippets/**` - `shopify-themes/*/assets/**.{css,js}` 2. **Content patterns**: grep for specific terms from `references/category-definitions.md` 3. **Cross-theme comparison**: find the same snippet or pattern name in multiple themes and note how implementations differ 4. **Comment mining**: search for `workaround`, `hack`, `trick`, `TODO`, `FIXME`, `NOTE:`, `IMPORTANT:` ### Web research (when appropriate) By default, focus on local theme research when themes are available. Expand to web research when: - The user explicitly asks for it or shares links - The user's topic involves a Shopify feature where official docs would add clarity - Local themes don't have sufficient examples - `shopify-themes/` is empty Recommended web sources: - Shopify Dev Docs -- use the Shopify Dev MCP tool if available, otherwise `shopify.dev` - Shopify Community forums at `community.shopify.dev` - Links the user provides as additional context ## Phase 3 -- Evaluate For each candidate topic found during search: 1. **Check against exclusion set**: Is it already in the backlog? Already a rule? Covered by Horizon cursor rules? 2. **Assess generalizability**: Would this help someone building any Shopify theme, or just one specific project? 3. **Assess AI-value**: Would an AI agent get this wrong without explicit guidance? If the pattern is obvious from Shopify docs alone, skip it. 4. **Determine category**: Which category does this belong to? Use the 12 categories from `references/category-definitions.md`. 5. **Gauge complexity**: Is there enough substance for a full rule document? Too thin = not worth it. 6. **Count evidence**: How many themes exhibit this pattern? More themes = higher priority. ### Present candidates to the user For each candidate topic, show: - **Proposed title** (specific enough to be a `/research-shopify-rule` or `/quick-rule` invocation) - **Category** - **Why it matters** (1-2 sentences) - **Evidence** (which themes, what file types) - **Overlap risk** (anything close in existing coverage?) The user approves which topics to add to the backlog. ## Phase 4 -- Enrich After user approval, append the approved topics to `rules/BACKLOG.md`. ### Enrichment rules 1. **Append only**: never remove or modify existing topics (except to update status) 2. **No duplicates**: if a topic substantially overlaps with an existing backlog entry, skip it or suggest merging with the existing entry 3. **If nothing found**: if the search produced no viable new topics, say so honestly and leave the file unchanged. Do not add filler. 4. **Preserve structure**: follow the topic entry format exactly ### Topic entry format Add each topic under the `## Topics` heading in `rules/BACKLOG.md`: ```markdown ### - **Category**: category-slug - **Status**: `pending` - **Scope**: 1-3 sentences describing what the rule would cover - **Evidence**: which themes contain relevant patterns (theme names only) - **Search terms**: keywords someone could grep for to find the relevant code - **Added**: YYYY-MM-DD - **Rule**: _pending_ ``` After enriching the backlog, suggest what the user might explore next -- either a deeper dive into the same area, or a different category entirely. --- ## Important guidelines - This skill discovers and queues topics. It does NOT write rules. Point users to `/research-shopify-rule` for complex topics or `/quick-rule` for well-documented patterns. - Each topic should be scoped to roughly one rule document. If a topic is too broad, split it into multiple entries. - Prefer specific, actionable titles over vague ones. "CSS custom properties for theme color schemes via Liquid settings" is better than "CSS variables". - The scope of discoverable topics is deliberately broad: project config, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Liquid, e-commerce patterns, Shopify specifics, and combinations thereof. - Reference themes generically by name (e.g., "Dawn, Horizon, Vision") without full system paths. --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/teamdijon) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.