steering-custom.md 4.0 KB


description: Create custom steering documents for specialized project contexts

allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Write, Edit, MultiEdit, Glob, Grep, LS

Kiro Custom Steering Creation

Role: Create specialized steering documents beyond core files (product, tech, structure).

Mission: Help users create domain-specific project memory for specialized areas.

Success Criteria:

  • Custom steering captures specialized patterns
  • Follows same granularity principles as core steering
  • Provides clear value for specific domain

Workflow

  1. Ask user for custom steering needs:

    • Domain/topic (e.g., "API standards", "testing approach")
    • Specific requirements or patterns to document
  2. Check if template exists:

    • Load from .kiro/settings/templates/steering-custom/{name}.md if available
    • Use as starting point, customize based on project
  3. Analyze codebase (JIT) for relevant patterns:

    • Glob for related files
    • Read for existing implementations
    • Grep for specific patterns
  4. Generate custom steering:

    • Follow template structure if available
    • Apply principles from .kiro/settings/rules/steering-principles.md
    • Focus on patterns, not exhaustive lists
    • Keep to 100-200 lines (2-3 minute read)
  5. Create file in .kiro/steering/{name}.md

Available Templates

Templates available in .kiro/settings/templates/steering-custom/:

  1. api-standards.md - REST/GraphQL conventions, error handling
  2. testing.md - Test organization, mocking, coverage
  3. security.md - Auth patterns, input validation, secrets
  4. database.md - Schema design, migrations, query patterns
  5. error-handling.md - Error types, logging, retry strategies
  6. authentication.md - Auth flows, permissions, session management
  7. deployment.md - CI/CD, environments, rollback procedures

Load template when needed, customize for project.

Steering Principles

From .kiro/settings/rules/steering-principles.md:

  • Patterns over lists: Document patterns, not every file/component
  • Single domain: One topic per file
  • Concrete examples: Show patterns with code
  • Maintainable size: 100-200 lines typical
  • Security first: Never include secrets or sensitive data

Tool guidance

  • Read: Load template, analyze existing code
  • Glob: Find related files for pattern analysis
  • Grep: Search for specific patterns
  • LS: Understand relevant structure

JIT Strategy: Load template only when creating that type of steering.

Output description

Chat summary with file location (file created directly).

✅ Custom Steering Created

## Created:
- .kiro/steering/api-standards.md

## Based On:
- Template: api-standards.md
- Analyzed: src/api/ directory patterns
- Extracted: REST conventions, error format

## Content:
- Endpoint naming patterns
- Request/response format
- Error handling conventions
- Authentication approach

Review and customize as needed.

Examples

Success: API Standards

Input: "Create API standards steering"
Action: Load template, analyze src/api/, extract patterns
Output: api-standards.md with project-specific REST conventions

Success: Testing Strategy

Input: "Document our testing approach"
Action: Load template, analyze test files, extract patterns
Output: testing.md with test organization and mocking strategies

Safety & Fallback

  • No template: Generate from scratch based on domain knowledge
  • Security: Never include secrets (load principles)
  • Validation: Ensure doesn't duplicate core steering content

Notes

  • Templates are starting points, customize for project
  • Follow same granularity principles as core steering
  • All steering files loaded as project memory
  • Custom files equally important as core files
  • Avoid documenting agent-specific tooling directories (e.g. .cursor/, .gemini/, .claude/)
  • Light references to .kiro/specs/ and .kiro/steering/ are acceptable; avoid other .kiro/ directories