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feat: add documentation links for global custom instructions in UI #7114

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@roomote roomote bot commented Aug 15, 2025

This PR addresses the suggestion from GitHub discussion #7111 to add documentation links for global custom instructions in the UI.

Changes

  • Updated translation strings in prompts.json to include placeholders for documentation links about global rules
  • Added VSCodeLink components in ModesView.tsx to render clickable documentation links
  • Links now appear in two places:
    1. Mode-specific custom instructions section - links to global rules documentation
    2. Global custom instructions section - links to global rules documentation

Why this change?

As suggested by @deathtothenig in the discussion, the global custom instructions feature is not easily discoverable in the settings. Adding these documentation links helps users:

  • Discover that global custom instructions exist
  • Learn how to set them up
  • Understand the difference between workspace and global rules

Testing

  • All existing tests pass
  • UI renders correctly with the new links
  • Links point to the correct documentation sections

Fixes #7111


Important

Adds documentation links for global custom instructions in ModesView.tsx and updates prompts.json in multiple locales to include placeholders for these links.

  • UI Changes:
    • Added VSCodeLink components in ModesView.tsx to render documentation links for global custom instructions.
    • Links added to mode-specific and global custom instructions sections.
  • Translations:
    • Updated prompts.json in multiple locales to include placeholders for documentation links about global rules.
  • Purpose:
    • Enhances discoverability and understanding of global custom instructions for users.
  • Testing:
    • Verified UI renders correctly with new links and links point to correct documentation sections.

This description was created by Ellipsis for 50dd578. You can customize this summary. It will automatically update as commits are pushed.

- Updated translation strings to include links to global rules documentation
- Added VSCodeLink components in ModesView to render clickable documentation links
- Helps users discover global custom instructions feature as suggested in GitHub discussion #7111
@roomote roomote bot requested review from mrubens, cte and jr as code owners August 15, 2025 00:01
@dosubot dosubot bot added size:S This PR changes 10-29 lines, ignoring generated files. UI/UX UI/UX related or focused labels Aug 15, 2025
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Reviewing my own code is like debugging in production - technically possible but morally questionable.

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
"title": "Mode-specific Custom Instructions (optional)",
"resetToDefault": "Reset to default",
"description": "Add behavioral guidelines specific to {{modeName}} mode.",
"loadFromFile": "Custom instructions specific to {{mode}} mode can also be loaded from the <span>.roo/rules-{{slug}}/</span> folder in your workspace (.roorules-{{slug}} and .clinerules-{{slug}} are deprecated and will stop working soon)."
"loadFromFile": "Custom instructions specific to {{mode}} mode can also be loaded from the <span>.roo/rules-{{slug}}/</span> folder in your workspace or from the global <0>.roo/rules-{{slug}}/</0> (.roorules-{{slug}} and .clinerules-{{slug}} are deprecated and will stop working soon)."
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Critical issue: This PR only updates the English translation file, but there are 17 other language files that need the same update. Without updating them, non-English users will see missing translation keys.

All translation files need the new "0" placeholder added to both customInstructions.loadFromFile (line 53) and globalCustomInstructions.loadFromFile (line 79).

Affected files:

  • locales/*/prompts.json (ca, de, es, fr, hi, id, it, ja, ko, nl, pl, pt-BR, ru, tr, vi, zh-CN, zh-TW)

"0": (
<VSCodeLink
href={buildDocLink(
"features/custom-instructions#global-custom-instructions",
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Is it intentional that both the mode-specific and global custom instructions sections link to the same documentation anchor (features/custom-instructions#global-custom-instructions)?

The mode-specific section (line 1172) might benefit from a different anchor that explains the relationship between workspace and global rules specifically for modes, rather than pointing to the general global instructions section.

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You could use either of these links for both mode-specific and general rules as they cover how to set up both globally: https://docs.roocode.com/features/custom-instructions#global-rules-directory
https://docs.roocode.com/features/custom-instructions#setting-up-global-rules

<VSCodeLink
href={buildDocLink(
"features/custom-instructions#global-custom-instructions",
"prompts_global_custom_instructions_global",
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The UTM campaign parameters are different between the two links:

  • Line 1172: prompts_mode_custom_instructions_global
  • Line 1368: prompts_global_custom_instructions_global

While this is good for tracking, consider if the naming could be clearer. For example:

  • prompts_mode_specific_global_rules
  • prompts_global_rules

This would make it more obvious what each link is tracking.

@@ -1166,6 +1166,15 @@
}}
/>
),
"0": (
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Consider adding aria-label attributes to these VSCodeLink components for better accessibility. This helps screen reader users understand what these documentation links are for.

For example:
<VSCodeLink
href={buildDocLink(...)}
style={{ display: "inline" }}
aria-label="Learn about global custom instructions for modes"
/>

@hannesrudolph hannesrudolph added the Issue/PR - Triage New issue. Needs quick review to confirm validity and assign labels. label Aug 15, 2025
@mrubens
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mrubens commented Aug 15, 2025

@roomote-agent please make adjustments based on the feedback

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roomote bot commented Aug 15, 2025

I'm on it! I'll address the following feedback:

  1. ✅ Update all 17 language translation files with the new "0" placeholder
  2. ✅ Update documentation links to use better anchors (#global-rules-directory or #setting-up-global-rules)
  3. ✅ Add aria-label attributes for accessibility
  4. ✅ Consider clearer UTM campaign parameter naming

Working on these changes now...

…mentation links

- Added <0> placeholders to all 17 non-English translation files for global rules links
- Updated documentation anchors to use #global-rules-directory and #setting-up-global-rules
- Added aria-label attributes to all VSCodeLink components for better accessibility
- Improved UTM campaign parameter naming for clearer tracking
@dosubot dosubot bot added size:M This PR changes 30-99 lines, ignoring generated files. and removed size:S This PR changes 10-29 lines, ignoring generated files. labels Aug 15, 2025
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roomote bot commented Aug 15, 2025

✅ All requested changes have been implemented!

Changes made:

  1. Updated all 17 language translation files - Added the missing <0> placeholders for global rules links in all non-English locales (ca, de, es, fr, hi, id, it, ja, ko, nl, pl, pt-BR, ru, tr, vi, zh-CN, zh-TW)

  2. Improved documentation anchors - Changed links to use more specific anchors:

    • Mode-specific instructions now link to #global-rules-directory
    • Global instructions now link to #setting-up-global-rules
  3. Added accessibility improvements - All VSCodeLink components now have descriptive aria-label attributes

  4. Updated UTM campaign parameters - Made tracking names clearer:

    • prompts_mode_specific_global_rules for mode-specific links
    • prompts_global_rules for global instruction links

All tests are passing locally and the translation check has already passed in CI. The changes ensure non-English users will see properly formatted links instead of missing translation keys.

@daniel-lxs daniel-lxs moved this from Triage to PR [Needs Prelim Review] in Roo Code Roadmap Aug 16, 2025
@hannesrudolph hannesrudolph added PR - Needs Preliminary Review and removed Issue/PR - Triage New issue. Needs quick review to confirm validity and assign labels. labels Aug 16, 2025
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