---
name: "Engineering Core Defaults"
description: "Cross-project baseline for maintainable, predictable, and secure engineering decisions."
applyTo: "**"
---

- Prioritize maintainability, readability, and predictability over novelty.
- Prefer explicit behavior and descriptive names over implicit shortcuts.
- Reuse existing project patterns and utilities before introducing abstractions.
- Keep implementations modular and scoped; avoid monolithic files and deep nesting.
- Remove dead code, unused imports, and duplicate logic when touching related areas.
- Add comments only for non-obvious intent, trade-offs, or constraints.
- Favor composition over inheritance and use early returns to simplify control flow.
- Default to secure practices: validate inputs, isolate secrets, and avoid hardcoded credentials.
- Keep dependencies minimal and add new ones only with clear justification.
- Optimize for practical performance without reducing clarity or maintainability.
- Treat project-local instructions as authoritative when they conflict with global defaults.