Customize

Kilo Code is highly customizable. Tailor its behavior to match your workflow, team standards, and project requirements with custom modes, rules, instructions, and more.

Customization

Configure how Kilo Code behaves and responds:

  • Custom Modes - Create specialized modes for different tasks (code review, documentation, testing, etc.)
  • Custom Rules - Define rules that apply to specific file types or situations
  • Custom Instructions - Add project-specific guidelines and context
  • agents.md - Configure agent behavior at the project level
  • Workflows - Automate multi-step processes
  • Skills - Extend Kilo's capabilities with reusable skill definitions
  • Prompt Engineering - Write effective prompts for better results

Context & Indexing

Help Kilo understand your codebase better:

  • Codebase Indexing - Build a semantic index of your code for better context awareness
  • Context Condensing - Summarize older context to stay within limits
  • Memory Bank - Store project context, decisions, and important information
  • Large Projects - Best practices for working with monorepos and large codebases

Getting Started

New to customization? Here's where to start:

  1. Start with Custom Instructions — Set up instructions in the Custom Instructions section to guide Kilo Code's behavior
  2. Explore Custom Modes — Try the built-in modes first, then create your own
  3. Enable Codebase Indexing — Help Kilo understand your project structure

Best Practices

  • Keep custom instructions concise and actionable
  • Use custom modes for repetitive tasks
  • Combine rules with modes for powerful workflows

Next Steps

  • Check out Code with AI to learn how to use Kilo effectively
  • Explore Automate for CI/CD integration and advanced automation
  • Learn about Collaboration features for teams