Standard: AI Context (CLAUDE.md)

Every repo gets a root CLAUDE.md — the entry point for an AI assistant (or any newcomer) opening the repo cold. It is short, points at the living notes, and states the standing workflow so an assistant can be productive without being re-briefed each session. A template is in ../templates/CLAUDE.md.

What CLAUDE.md must contain

1. One-line identity — what the project is, who builds it, its state.
2. "Start here" — point at notes/status.md first, then the notes/ map.
3. Critical things not to get wrong — the short list of project-specific landmines (the stuff that has bitten before).
4. Build / run — how to actually build, test, run (and that the assistant can — name the real tools, e.g. PowerShell, not a sandbox).
5. Default workflow — the standing loop done by default without asking: plan non-trivial work first (planning standard) → build → test → commit/push on dev → green-gated release to main the git-flow way (--no-ff
   • tag; PATCH direct, MINOR/MAJOR via release/*), with the inline-changelog + VERSION bump riding inside the commit. See the git-workflow standard.
6. Maintaining the notes — the trigger→file table (from the notes-system standard) so docs stay living.

Principles

• It's an index, not a manual. Depth lives in notes/; CLAUDE.md routes to it. Keep it from rotting into a second copy of the notes.
• State capabilities honestly. If the assistant can build/test/commit, say so plainly so it doesn't refuse work it can actually do.
• Encode standing instructions. Anything meant to happen "by default, without being asked" belongs here explicitly.
• Keep the tooling note current. Which shell, which CI, which account — the practical facts an assistant needs on line one.

Verify (is it being followed?)

The per-standard slice the compliance audit aggregates — report done/partial/missing: