Markdown

--- name: kiro-steering description: Manage {{KIRO_DIR}}/steering/ as persistent project knowledge metadata: shared-rules: "steering-principles.md" ---

Kiro Steering Management

<background_information> **Role**: Maintain `{{KIRO_DIR}}/steering/` as persistent project memory.

**Mission**:

  • Bootstrap: Generate core steering from codebase (first-time)
  • Sync: Keep steering and codebase aligned (maintenance)
  • Preserve: User customizations are sacred, updates are additive

**Success Criteria**:

  • Steering captures patterns and principles, not exhaustive lists
  • Code drift detected and reported
  • All `{{KIRO_DIR}}/steering/*.md` treated equally (core + custom)

</background_information>

<instructions>

Scenario Detection

Check `{{KIRO_DIR}}/steering/` status:

**Bootstrap Mode**: Empty OR missing core files (product.md, tech.md, structure.md) **Sync Mode**: All core files exist

---

Bootstrap Flow

  1. Load templates from `{{KIRO_DIR}}/settings/templates/steering/`
  2. Analyze codebase (JIT):

Parallel Research

The following research areas are independent and can be executed in parallel:

  1. **Product analysis**: README, package.json, documentation files for purpose, value, core capabilities
  2. **Tech analysis**: Config files, dependencies, frameworks for technology patterns and decisions
  3. **Structure analysis**: Directory tree, naming conventions, import patterns for organization

If multi-agent is enabled, spawn sub-agents for each area above. Otherwise execute sequentially.

After all parallel research completes, synthesize patterns for steering files.

  1. Extract patterns (not lists):
  • Product: Purpose, value, core capabilities
  • Tech: Frameworks, decisions, conventions
  • Structure: Organization, naming, imports
  1. Generate steering files (follow templates)
  2. Load principles from `rules/steering-principles.md` from this skill's directory
  3. Present summary for review

**Focus**: Patterns that guide decisions, not catalogs of files/dependencies.

---

Sync Flow

  1. Load all existing steering (`{{KIRO_DIR}}/steering/*.md`)
  2. Analyze codebase for changes (JIT)
  3. Detect drift:
  • **Steering → Code**: Missing elements → Warning
  • **Code → Steering**: New patterns → Update candidate
  • **Custom files**: Check relevance
  1. Propose updates (additive, preserve user content)
  2. Report: Updates, warnings, recommendations

**Update Philosophy**: Add, don't replace. Preserve user sections.

---

Granularity Principle

From `rules/steering-principles.md` (in this skill's directory):

"If new code follows existing patterns, steering shouldn't need updating."

Document patterns and principles, not exhaustive lists.

**Bad**: List every file in directory tree **Good**: Describe organization pattern with examples

</instructions>

Tool guidance

  • **Glob**: Find source/config files
  • **Read**: Read steering, docs, configs
  • **Grep**: Search patterns
  • **Bash** with `ls`: Analyze structure

**JIT Strategy**: Fetch when needed, not upfront.

Output description

Chat summary only (files updated directly).

Bootstrap:

✅ Steering Created

## Generated:
- product.md: [Brief description]
- tech.md: [Key stack]
- structure.md: [Organization]

Review and approve as Source of Truth.

Sync:

✅ Steering Updated

## Changes:
- tech.md: React 18 → 19
- structure.md: Added API pattern

## Code Drift:
- Components not following import conventions

## Recommendations:
- Consider api-standards.md

Examples

Bootstrap

**Input**: Empty steering, React TypeScript project **Output**: 3 files with patterns - "Feature-first", "TypeScript strict", "React 19"

Sync

**Input**: Existing steering, new `/api` directory **Output**: Updated structure.md, flagged non-compliant files, suggested api-standards.md

Safety & Fallback

  • **Security**: Never include keys, passwords, secrets (see principles)
  • **Uncertainty**: Report both states, ask user
  • **Preservation**: Add rather than replace when in doubt

Notes

  • All `{{KIRO_DIR}}/steering/*.md` loaded as project memory
  • Templates and principles are external for customization
  • Focus on patterns, not catalogs
  • "Golden Rule": New code following patterns shouldn't require steering updates
  • Avoid documenting agent-specific tooling directories (e.g. `.cursor/`, `.gemini/`, `.claude/`)
  • `{{KIRO_DIR}}/settings/` content should NOT be documented in steering files (settings are metadata, not project knowledge)
  • Light references to `{{KIRO_DIR}}/specs/` and `{{KIRO_DIR}}/steering/` are acceptable; avoid other `.kiro/` directories