How Do I Create AI Coding Standards for My Team?

Key Takeaways

  • Avoid Fragmentation: Don't let every developer use AI in their own "wild west" way.
  • Standardize Instructions: Use shared .cursorrules or .ai-instructions files.
  • Governance over Tools: Standards should focus on how we use AI, not just which tool.
  • Collaborative standards prevent the "Team Chaos" described in Chapter 9.

The Problem: Team Chaos

Without standards, AI-assisted development leads to Team Debt:

  • Developers use different architectural patterns proposed by different LLMs.
  • Code style drifts violently between modules.
  • Onboarding becomes impossible because no one understands their teammates' "AI-magic."
  • Knowledge silos form around individual "vibe-coding" sessions.

The 5 Pillars of Team Standards

1. The Instruction Standard

Standardize the "system prompts" your team uses.

  • Action: Create a shared TEAM_RULES.md and use it to populate .cursorrules or similar tool-specific config files.
  • Rule: All agents must follow the "Clean Vibe" principles: Clarity over Cleverness.

2. The Clean Prompt Library

Don't start from scratch. Build a library of "Clean Prompt" templates for common tasks (e.g., adding a new API route, creating a UI component).

  • Action: Keep a prompts/ directory in your main repository.

3. Mandatory Agent Boundaries

Prevent "runaway agents" from breaking production or security.

  • Rule: Agents are forbidden from touching .env, /database/schema/, or /auth/ without a senior dev checkpoint.
  • Rule: Background autonomy is forbidden for core IP logic.

4. The "Explain Before Merge" Policy

Turn code review into a knowledge-sharing exercise.

  • Policy: PR authors must document the "Why" of AI-generated logic in the PR description or an ADR.
  • Policy: If the reviewer finds a "Magic Black Box," the PR is rejected.

5. The Shared Debt Ledger

Synthetic debt belongs to the team, not just the individual.

  • Action: Maintain a central DEBT.md file.
  • Process: Include "Debt Review" in your weekly retrospectives.

The Statistics

10x
ROI on investment in team standards
Source: Ch 16
72%
of devs avoid Vibe Coding for production
Source: Source 17

Implementing Standards Gradually

Don't try to change everything overnight. In Chapter 16: Clean Teams, we recommend a three-step rollout:

  1. Week 1: Implement the "Explain Before Merge" rule.
  2. Week 2: Create your first shared .cursorrules file.
  3. Month 1: Set up the team Debt Ledger.

Related Questions

Learn More

The complete framework for team governance is covered in Chapter 16: Clean Teams and Chapter 18: The Manifesto.

Scale AI collaboration without the chaos

Get Clean Vibe Code