All rules

R008 EmphasisInflation

Applies to

Rules files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, .mdc, .cursorrules, Copilot instructions, GEMINI.md, .windsurfrules)

Severity

Warning (−4 per finding, max −30)

Summary

Emphasis is on so many lines that none of it stands out.

Flags

Lines with IMPORTANT, CRITICAL, MUST, NEVER, ALWAYS, DO NOT, MANDATORY or REQUIRED in capitals, or "!!". In a file with a capitalized SHOULD or a mention of RFC 2119 or BCP 14, MUST and REQUIRED are keywords and not counted. Limit: 5 per 100 lines, minimum 3. Code blocks excluded. Reported once, at the first line over the limit.

Measured false-positive rate

6% (1 of 16) and 31% (5 of 16), two judges, ruleset v4. Methodology

Before

- ALWAYS run tests.
- NEVER skip lint.
- You MUST format.
- IMPORTANT: commit often.

After

- Run tests.
- Run lint before commit.
- NEVER push to main.

Fix

• Keep emphasis for the few rules that override others. State the rest plainly.