What to Put in a Base44 Rules Sheet So the AI Stops Guessing

A project rules sheet is a short, plain-language document that tells your AI builder how your app works and what it must never touch. Write it once, keep it current, and paste or attach it whenever you start a bigger change. It is the cheapest way to stop an AI builder from guessing, and the foundation of good Base44 project rules.

Base44 has its own ways to give an AI lasting instructions, and they change over time. Its skills guide describes skills as instruction files (a SKILL.md with metadata and steps) that load when they are needed. Check Base44's current docs or your app settings for what your plan supports. The habits below work whichever mechanism you use, even if all you do is paste the sheet into your prompt.

Why the AI guesses

An AI builder only knows what is in front of it: your prompt and whatever context it can see. If you never said that "Client" is the main record type, that the admin page is off limits, or that emails go through one service, it will make a reasonable guess. Sometimes the guess renames a field or rebuilds a page you liked.

What to put in your rules sheet

Keep each section to a few lines. Short rules get followed; long essays get skimmed.

1. What the app is

Two sentences: who uses it and what it does. Example: "A booking app for dog groomers. Groomers manage appointments; customers book and pay."

2. The names that must not change

List your main entities (record types), key pages and roles. Add: "Do not rename these or change their fields unless I ask."

3. Do-not-touch list

Login, payments, admin pages, connected email or SMS, and anything that already works. Be explicit: "Do not edit the checkout flow when working on anything else."

4. How things should be done

Your standing choices. For example: "All emails go through one function. Store secrets as secrets, never in page text. Reuse existing components before making new ones."

5. How to work

Ask for one change per prompt. Ask the AI to say what it will change before it changes it, and to list the pages it touched afterward.

6. Known quirks

Anything you learned the hard way: "The calendar needs the user's timezone saved on their profile."

A starter template

Copy this, then fill in your own details:

• App: [two sentences]
• Main records: [names]. Never rename or restructure without asking.
• Do not touch: [login, payments, admin, ...]
• Standing rules: [your choices]
• Process: one change at a time; tell me the plan first; list what changed.
• Known quirks: [notes]

Keeping it useful

• Update it after every mistake. If the AI broke something, add the rule that would have prevented it.
• Keep it under a page. If it grows, split it into a main sheet and one sheet per area, like payments or email.
• Date it, so you know whether it still matches the app.
• Do not put passwords, API keys or customer data in it.

What a rules sheet can't do

It reduces guessing; it does not guarantee the AI follows every line. Pair it with a saved restore point before big changes. See how to back up and roll back a Base44 app.

FAQ

How long should the sheet be? One page is plenty to start. Add lines only when a real problem earns them.

Do I need to write code? No. Plain sentences work.

Is this the same as a prompt? It is a reusable part of your prompts: the standing instructions you would otherwise retype.

Next step

If you would rather start from ready-made instructions, the Complete Base44 Knowledge Kit is a downloadable package of 15 installable skills for Base44 builders. It is a set of files, not hosted software, and you will still adapt it to your own app.

Related reading: Why your AI app builder keeps breaking things and Why Base44 credits run out fast.