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Cline + Soul Spec

Cline is an open-source AI coding agent for VS Code. It supports custom instructions via .clinerules/ directory, where Cline automatically loads all .md rule files.

Soul Spec gives Cline a real persona. Install a soul, and the rule files are automatically written to .clinerules/, giving your agent a consistent identity.

Quick Start (2 minutes)​

Step 1: Install the CLI​

npm install -g clawsouls

Step 2: Install a soul​

clawsouls install TomLeeLive/brad --use cline

This automatically creates .clinerules/clawsouls-soul.md, .clinerules/clawsouls-identity.md, .clinerules/clawsouls-style.md, and .clinerules/clawsouls-agents.md in your project.

Step 3: Reload Cline​

In VS Code, reload the Cline extension:

  • Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
  • Run "Developer: Reload Window"

Cline will read the rule files from .clinerules/ and adopt the persona.

Rule Files Structure​

After installation, your project will have:

my-project/
├── .clinerules/
│   ├── clawsouls-soul.md      ← Personality & tone
│   ├── clawsouls-identity.md  ← Agent identity
│   ├── clawsouls-style.md     ← Communication style
│   ├── clawsouls-agents.md    ← Workflow rules
│   └── ...                     (other rules)
├── src/
└── ...

Cline auto-discovers and loads all .md files in .clinerules/. You can also add project-specific rules here alongside the persona files.

Git-Friendly Setup​

Commit .clinerules/ to share personas with your team:

git add .clinerules/
git commit -m "chore: add clawsouls persona"

Team members will inherit the same persona when they reload Cline.

Switching Personas​

To change personas, run install again with a different soul:

clawsouls install clawsouls/ellie --use cline

Then reload Cline in VS Code. The .clinerules/ files are updated automatically.

Tips​

  • Project-specific personas. Each project gets its own .clinerules/.
  • Add project rules. Create additional .md files in .clinerules/ for coding standards, guidelines, etc.
  • Reload after install. Always reload the Cline extension after running clawsouls install --use cline.
  • Version control. Commit .clinerules/ to git to ensure team consistency.