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{% callout type="generic" %} Kilo Code is highly customizable. Tailor its behavior to match your workflow, team standards, and project requirements with custom modes, rules, instructions, and more. {% /callout %}

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
Custom Subagents - Create specialized subagents with custom prompts, models, and permissions
Agent Permissions - Configure rule precedence, shell command patterns, file paths, and subagent delegation
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
AGENTS.md - 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:

Start with Custom Instructions — Set up instructions in the Custom Instructions section to guide Kilo Code's behavior
Explore Custom Modes — Try the built-in modes first, then create your own
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