| name | project-overview |
| description | Use when starting a new project, or when the agent lacks a clear picture of what's being built, who it's for, and what is explicitly out of scope. Use when a build keeps producing things nobody asked for. |
project-overview
Overview
The agent's north star. Without it, the agent fills gaps with guesses and three sessions in you have a product nobody asked for. This file is the single source of "what we're building and why" — write it once, it travels with the project.
Lives at context/project-overview.md.
When to use
- Day one of any project, before the agent touches code.
- When scope is creeping or the agent keeps building unrequested things.
What goes in it
- What it is — one paragraph. The product in plain language.
- Who it's for — the user.
- Problem it solves — why it exists.
- Pages + user flow — every screen and how the user moves between them.
- Core functionality — the handful of things it must do.
- In scope — what we ARE building.
- Out of scope — what we are NOT building (this kills scope creep).
- Success criteria — how we know it works.
How to maintain
Update when the product direction changes. Keep it one page — detail belongs in build-plan and architecture.
Common mistakes
- Listing only in-scope → the out-of-scope list is what prevents drift. Write both.
- Vague success criteria → the agent can't tell "done" from "more." Make them concrete.
