Each repository carries a root CLAUDE.md file: a short entry point for an AI assistant — or any newcomer — opening the repository without prior context. The canonical machine copy of this standard is in the repository at hub/standards/ai-context.md, with a template at hub/templates/CLAUDE.md.

What it contains

1. A one-line identity for the project.
2. A “start here” pointer to notes/status.md and the rest of the notes.
3. The short list of project-specific things not to get wrong.
4. How to build, test, and run — stated plainly, including which tools are actually available.
5. The standing workflow that should happen by default (build, test, commit on dev, fast-forward main, with the changelog and version bump riding inside the commit).
6. A reminder of how the notes are kept current.

Principles

It is an index, not a manual: depth lives in notes/, and CLAUDE.md routes to it rather than duplicating it. Capabilities are stated honestly so an assistant neither refuses work it can do nor attempts work it cannot. Anything meant to happen “by default, without being asked” is written down explicitly.