| name | qi-layer |
| type | reference |
| description | Use when writing or maintaining AGENTS.md, .context/CONTEXT.md, or CLAUDE.md mirrors: keep intent docs minimal and load-bearing. |
qi-layer
Load /knowledge-layers for where each layer lives and what it holds.
Load /llm-writing if it isn't already loaded.
This skill is about how to write and maintain the directory-local pair:
AGENTS.md and .context/CONTEXT.md. The pair governs any tree agents work
in — code, the KB, docs, work directories. AGENTS.md loads into an agent's
bounded context as standing instructions: write it like a prompt, minimal,
every line load-bearing.
The Four Principles
- Fractal Compression: leaf AGENTS.md summarizes its directory's
content; parent AGENTS.md summarizes its children. Each level is a
compression of the level below.
- Hierarchical Summarization: root provides broad architectural
frame. Leaves provide local working knowledge. Agents accumulate
understanding as they descend.
- LCA Deduplication: shared knowledge appears once at the shallowest
node covering all relevant paths. Never duplicate between siblings.
- Progressive Disclosure: give just enough to work correctly at this
level. Link to
.context/CONTEXT.md for depth.
Writing AGENTS.md
Agents read AGENTS.md before opening anything else in the tree — write for
that moment. Ask: what must someone understand before working here?
That's what AGENTS.md captures.
Keep AGENTS.md as short as the directory allows, rarely past 200 lines.
Include only what has substance:
- Purpose: what this area IS and what it ISN'T (1–3 sentences)
- Mental model: how to think about this area, key abstractions
- Key rules: constraints, what breaks if you get it wrong
- Anti-patterns: what NOT to do here
- Downlinks: to
.context/ for depth, to related areas
An agent that only reads AGENTS.md should be able to work correctly here.
An agent that also reads .context/ should be able to change things safely.
Writing .context/CONTEXT.md
Reference depth, co-located with the code it describes. Where an agent
goes when it needs contracts, architecture, or rationale in detail.
Sections (use only those with substance):
- Contracts: interfaces, invariants, what breaks if violated
- Architecture: component relationships, data flow, dependency direction
- Rationale: why X over Y, rejected alternatives
- Patterns: how to work here, concrete pitfalls
The .context/ directory is extensible: additional files alongside
CONTEXT.md for specialized concerns.
What Does NOT Belong in AGENTS.md
Apply the every-session test: root AGENTS.md loads on every session.
If knowledge is only relevant when working in a specific domain, it belongs
in that domain's AGENTS.md or .context/, not root.
Apply the think-vs-lookup test: text whose removal would cause a
wrong decision belongs in AGENTS.md. Text an agent would merely have to
look up belongs in .context/. Text that changes no behavior gets
deleted — agents already know how to code and follow common conventions.
Specific failure modes:
- Session bleed: LLM working notes that calcified into the instruction
file. Tells: status-update language ("deleted", "shipped", "deferred"),
implementation terms packed without framing, history narration.
- Reference material posing as intent: tables, command blocks, full
scheme vocabularies, implementation specifics.
- Redundant guards: prose warnings for invariants already enforced by
tests or types. The code is the real guard; prose rots faster.
- Duplicated knowledge: restating what lives in a skill, a domain
.context/, or a KB page. Point, don't duplicate.
- Domain-specific detail at root: URI scheme tables, gateway pricing
internals, auth implementation details. These belong in their domain's
AGENTS.md, not root.
Structural Rules
- Relative paths for all links
- AGENTS.md and .context/ at the same directory level (siblings)
- Link to files, not headings (headings change more often)
- Lateral links between
.context/ directories with contracts between them
- LCA deduplication: if two siblings share context, put it in the parent
CLAUDE.md Mirrors
Claude harnesses read CLAUDE.md, not AGENTS.md. Give every AGENTS.md a
sibling CLAUDE.md whose first line is @AGENTS.md — normally the whole
file. Run meridian qi claude-md-fix <target-root> on the containing tree
after creating or moving AGENTS.md files: it creates missing mirrors, skips
exact ones, and reports anything else as a conflict.
Never write shared instructions into CLAUDE.md. Claude-only knowledge is
rare; when it exists, put it below the @AGENTS.md import and expect
claude-md-fix to keep flagging the file, so the divergence stays visible.
Loading differs by level. At the root, each harness auto-loads its own
file every session: Claude reads CLAUDE.md, others read AGENTS.md. In
subdirectories, Claude auto-injects CLAUDE.md when it touches files there;
other agents see nested AGENTS.md only by reading it on entry. Don't lean
on Claude's auto-injection: a nested AGENTS.md carries the local additions
an agent needs on entry, with everything else inherited from ancestors.
Maintenance
Keep knowledge layers current as you work. When your changes shift the
mental model, contracts, or decisions: update each affected layer in the
same pass, not as a deferred follow-up. One home per fact; other layers
link to it (/knowledge-layers).
