| name | ai-context |
| description | Project knowledge base for coding agents. Activate when: (1) starting a new session in this project, (2) encountering unfamiliar code patterns or architecture decisions, (3) user asks about project design or rationale, (4) before making significant structural changes. Contains tiered knowledge from stable design principles to dynamic issues.
|
AI Context — Project Knowledge System
This skill provides pre-generated project knowledge to help you understand the project faster and work more effectively.
🎯 When to Activate This Skill
Activate immediately when:
- Starting a new coding session in this project
- You need to understand "why something is designed this way"
- User asks about project architecture, design decisions, or constraints
Refer to specific sections when:
- Encountering unexpected behavior or errors →
DYNAMICS.md
- Planning structural changes →
references/DECISIONS.md
- Need high-level overview →
references/PROJECT-ESSENCE.md
- Need component relationships →
references/ARCHITECTURE.md
Do NOT activate when:
- Simple code edits with clear context
- User requests are purely mechanical (rename, format, etc.)
- You already have sufficient context from recent conversation
📁 Knowledge Tiers
This skill organizes knowledge by stability — how frequently the knowledge changes:
| Tier | File | Stability | Update Frequency |
|---|
| Tier 0 | PROJECT-ESSENCE.md | High | Quarterly / Major version |
| Tier 1 | ARCHITECTURE.md | Medium | Monthly / Sprint |
| Tier 2 | DECISIONS.md | Low | Per decision change |
| Tier 3 | DYNAMICS.md | Dynamic | As needed (issues, incidents) |
Reading Order (Recommended)
1. PROJECT-ESSENCE.md ← Start here (1-2 min read)
2. ARCHITECTURE.md ← If working across components
3. DECISIONS.md ← If changing established patterns
4. DYNAMICS.md ← If something feels wrong
🔧 How to Use This Knowledge
1. Session Start Protocol
□ Read PROJECT-ESSENCE.md (always)
□ Scan DYNAMICS.md for active issues
□ Read ARCHITECTURE.md if working across subprojects
□ Proceed with dynamic code exploration
2. Dynamic Code Exploration
This knowledge is a starting point, not a replacement for reading code:
- Use
grep and find_path to locate actual implementations
- Verify knowledge against current code state
- Update knowledge if you find drift (see Maintenance section)
3. Decision Validation
Before changing established patterns:
□ Check DECISIONS.md for existing decisions
□ If decision exists: follow it or explicitly propose change
□ If new decision needed: document after implementation
🔄 When to Update This Knowledge
Update PROJECT-ESSENCE.md when:
- Project purpose or scope fundamentally changes
- New major capability is added
- Core user workflow changes
Update ARCHITECTURE.md when:
- New component/subproject added
- Component responsibilities shift
- Data flow changes significantly
- API contracts change
Update DECISIONS.md when:
- A new design decision is made (especially if non-obvious)
- An existing decision is revisited/changed
- A trade-off is resolved differently
Update DYNAMICS.md when:
- New issue discovered that blocks normal workflow
- Workaround found for existing issue
- Issue is resolved
- Temporary constraint is added/removed
Update MAINTENANCE.md when:
- You discover a new pattern for maintaining this knowledge
- The project structure changes significantly
- You add new automation scripts
⚠️ Important Principles
- Knowledge is a guide, not truth — Always verify against actual code
- Update responsibly — Stale knowledge is worse than no knowledge
- Keep it high-level — Details belong in code comments
- Trust dynamic exploration — Use tools to find current state
📚 File Reference
🔗 Integration with AGENTS.md
This skill complements AGENTS.md in the project root:
| File | Purpose | Who writes |
|---|
AGENTS.md | Operational rules, commands, style | Project maintainers |
.ai-context/ | Pre-generated knowledge | System / Auto-generated |
Both should be read at session start. AGENTS.md tells you how to work, .ai-context tells you what the project is.
Generated by ai-context-skill — A reusable skill for creating project knowledge bases
