Enforcement Overview

Rulebound enforces rules at multiple points in your development workflow: during validation, on git commit, in CI/CD pipelines, and in real-time while editing. The enforcement mode controls how strictly violations are handled.

Enforcement Points

Point	Command	When
Plan validation	`rulebound validate`	Before implementation
Diff validation	`rulebound diff`	Before commit
Pre-commit hook	Auto (via `rulebound hook`)	On git commit
CI/CD pipeline	`rulebound ci`	On PR/push
Real-time watch	`rulebound watch`	On file save
AST analysis	`rulebound check-code`	On demand

Enforcement Modes

Configure with rulebound enforce --mode <mode> or in .rulebound/config.json:

Advisory (default)

{ "enforcement": { "mode": "advisory" } }

Never blocks commits or CI
Reports all violations as warnings
Good for onboarding or evaluating rules

Moderate

{ "enforcement": { "mode": "moderate", "scoreThreshold": 70 } }

Blocks on MUST rule violations
Blocks when score drops below threshold
SHOULD violations are warnings only
Recommended for most teams

Strict

{ "enforcement": { "mode": "strict", "scoreThreshold": 80 } }

Blocks on any MUST or SHOULD violation
Blocks when score drops below threshold
For regulated environments or mature teams

Blocking Logic

Condition	Advisory	Moderate	Strict
MUST violation	No block	Blocks	Blocks
SHOULD violation	No block	No block	Blocks
Score below threshold	No block	Blocks	Blocks
NOT_COVERED rules	No block	No block	No block

Score Calculation

Validation score is a weighted average:

Status	Weight
PASS	1.0
NOT_COVERED	0.5
VIOLATED	0.0

Score formula: (PASS + NOT_COVERED * 0.5) / total * 100

Default threshold: 70. Configurable with --threshold.

Auto-Promotion

When autoPromote is enabled (default) and your score reaches 90+, Rulebound suggests upgrading to the next enforcement level. This helps teams gradually increase strictness as their rule compliance improves.

Configuration

# View current enforcement config
rulebound enforce

# Set mode
rulebound enforce --mode moderate

# Set threshold
rulebound enforce --threshold 80

# Both at once
rulebound enforce --mode strict --threshold 85

Or edit .rulebound/config.json directly:

{
  "enforcement": {
    "mode": "moderate",
    "scoreThreshold": 70,
    "autoPromote": true
  }
}