/maintaining-project-context

name: maintaining-project-context
description: Use when completing development phases or branches to identify and update CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md files that may have become stale - analyzes what changed, determines affected contracts and documentation, and coordinates updates
user-invocable: false

Maintaining Project Context

**REQUIRED SUB-SKILL:** Use ed3d-extending-claude:writing-claude-md-files for all context file creation and updates.

Core Principle

Context files (CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md) document contracts and architectural intent. When code changes contracts, the documentation must update. Stale documentation is worse than no documentation.

**Trigger:** End of development phase, branch completion, or any work that changed contracts, APIs, or domain structure.

Format Detection (MANDATORY FIRST STEP)

Before any updates, detect what format this repository uses:

# Check for AGENTS.md at root
ls -la AGENTS.md 2>/dev/null

# Check for CLAUDE.md at root
ls -la CLAUDE.md 2>/dev/null

| Root AGENTS.md? | Format | Action | |-----------------|--------|--------| | Yes | AGENTS.md-canonical | Update AGENTS.md files, create companion CLAUDE.md | | No | CLAUDE.md-canonical | Update CLAUDE.md files directly |

**Key principle:** We use OUR format structure (Purpose, Contracts, Dependencies, Invariants, etc.) regardless of filename. AGENTS.md is just for cross-platform AI agent compatibility.

AGENTS.md-Canonical Repos

When the repo uses AGENTS.md:

1. **Read AGENTS.md first** before making any updates 2. **Write content to AGENTS.md** using our standard structure 3. **Create companion CLAUDE.md** next to each AGENTS.md with exactly this content:

Read @./AGENTS.md and treat its contents as if they were in CLAUDE.md

When to Update Context Files

| Change Type | Update Required? | What to Update | |-------------|------------------|----------------| | New domain/module | Yes | Create domain context file | | API/interface change | Yes | Contracts section | | Architectural decision | Yes | Key Decisions section | | Invariant change | Yes | Invariants section | | Dependency change | Yes | Dependencies section | | Bug fix (no contract change) | No | - | | Refactor (same behavior) | No | - | | Test additions | No | - |

The Process

Step 1: Identify What Changed

Diff against the base (branch start or phase start):

# Get changed files
git diff --name-only <base-sha> HEAD

# Get detailed changes
git diff <base-sha> HEAD --stat

Categorize changes:

• **Structural:** New directories, moved files
• **Contract:** Changed exports, interfaces, public APIs
• **Behavioral:** Changed invariants, guarantees
• **Internal:** Implementation details only

Step 2: Map Changes to Context Files

For each significant change, determine which context file should document it:

| Change Location | Context File Location | |-----------------|----------------------| | Project-wide pattern | Root context file | | New domain | `<domain>/` context file (create) | | Existing domain contract | `<domain>/` context file (update) | | Cross-domain dependency | Both affected domains |

**Hierarchy rule:** Information belongs at the lowest level where it applies. Domain-specific contracts go in domain files, not root.

**For AGENTS.md-canonical repos:** When creating new domain context files, create both `AGENTS.md` (with content) and `CLAUDE.md` (companion pointer).

Step 3: Verify Contracts Still Hold

For each affected context file, verify:

1. **Contracts section:** Do exposes/guarantees/expects match current code? 2. **Dependencies section:** Are uses/used-by/boundary accurate? 3. **Invariants section:** Are all invariants still enforced? 4. **Key Decisions section:** Any new decisions to document?

# Find domain's public exports
grep -r "export" <domain>/index.ts

# Find domain's imports (dependencies)
grep -r "from '\.\." <domain>/

Step 4: Update or Create Context Files

**For updates:** 1. Read existing file first (especially for AGENTS.md) 2. Update freshness date via `date +%Y-%m-%d` 3. Update affected sections 4. Remove stale content 5. Verify under token budget (<100 lines for domain files)

**For new domains (CLAUDE.md-canonical repos):** 1. Create `<domain>/CLAUDE.md` using template from writing-claude-md-files 2. Document purpose, contracts, dependencies, invariants 3. Set freshness date

**For new domains (AGENTS.md-canonical repos):** 1. Create `<domain>/AGENTS.md` using template from writing-claude-md-files 2. Document purpose, contracts, dependencies, invariants 3. Set freshness date 4. Create companion `<domain>/CLAUDE.md`:

   Read @./AGENTS.md and treat its contents as if they were in CLAUDE.md

Step 5: Commit Documentation Updates

git add <affected CLAUDE.md files>
git commit -m "docs: update project context for <branch-name>"

Decision Tree

Has code changed?
├─ No → Skip (nothing to update)
└─ Yes → Detect format first (AGENTS.md at root?)
    │
    └─ What changed?
        ├─ Only tests/internal details → Skip
        └─ Contracts/APIs/structure → Continue
            │
            ├─ New domain created?
            │   ├─ AGENTS.md repo → Create AGENTS.md + companion CLAUDE.md
            │   └─ CLAUDE.md repo → Create CLAUDE.md
            │
            ├─ Existing domain changed?
            │   └─ Update domain context file (read first!)
            │
            └─ Project-wide pattern changed?
                └─ Update root context file

Quick Reference

**Always update when:**

• New public exports added
• Interface signatures changed
• Invariants added/removed
• Dependencies changed
• Architectural decisions made

**Never update for:**

• Internal refactoring
• Bug fixes that don't change contracts
• Test file changes
• Comment/documentation-only changes

Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Fix | |---------|-----| | Updating for every change | Only update for c