Why: CONTEXT.md is an instructed every-session read at 33,799 bytes (~8,450
tokens), and CONTEXT.md:17 layered docs/VISION.md on top. After the AGENTS.md
trim, that left ~9,650 tokens of instructed reads sitting behind a file whose
own format contract — grill-with-docs/CONTEXT-FORMAT.md:43, "Keep definitions
tight. One sentence max." — it was not following. 22 glossary entries averaged
190 words; the top four were 55% of the file, and one ("Vale audit prefilter")
was 1,444 words of pre-commit forensics filed as a definition.
Implementation notes:
- CONTEXT.md rewritten to CONTEXT-FORMAT.md's prescribed template: ## Language
(five clusters, 22 terms with _Avoid_ aliases), ## Relationships,
## Example dialogue, ## Flagged ambiguities. 33,799 -> 9,762 bytes.
- Vale prefilter forensics moved to docs/spec/gates.md under nine subsections:
the two-copy style layout, vale-wrap.sh and the Vale 3.15.2
text.frontmatter.description limitation, the --config argv defect (E100),
glob scoping, the rule inventory, and 0-files-means-NOT-RUN.
- Instruction-file format and the bidirectional-reference principle moved to
docs/spec/architecture.md, the latter flagged as aspirational: no instruction
file carries a `when:` field, only 2 of 39 skills do, and the reference
scanner script it names does not exist.
- Added a per-plugin scope table to architecture.md so "which plugin owns this
skill" survives the trim, and corrected its claim that the content index
lives in providers/claude-code/CLAUDE.md — that file is now two import lines
and the index sits in core/AGENTS.md.
- "Repo and Gitea are the only source of truth" moved from CONTEXT.md's
Principles into AGENTS.md session rules; it was operative guidance in a
glossary. docs/VISION.md and LESSONS.md added to the on-demand list.
- The apm-consumed install entry (432 words) was deleted outright: all four
consequences are already carried by README.md, ADR-0018, gates.md and
AGENTS.md.
- ADR-0013, ADR-0015 and ADR-0017 each pointed at CONTEXT.md sections that
moved; amended with dated supersession notes rather than left dangling.
Impact: the every-session set drops from ~15,700 to ~4,140 tokens across both
passes (-74%). The deleted "lint plugin" entry was also stale on a safety
claim — it said lint-runner inherits Edit, but ADR-0016 restored
`disallowedTools: Edit, Write, NotebookEdit` and CONTEXT.md was never updated.
Refs: #99
6.6 KiB
Working in this repo
The global AI development configuration repository — the authoritative source for agent definitions, skills, workflows, and prompts across all projects.
This file carries only what applies to every session. Setup, prerequisites, and test commands are in README.md; the reasoning behind each enforcement gate is in docs/spec/gates.md.
Structure
plugins/— six installable plugin units, each an apm package (apm.yml+.apm/). Rootapm.ymldeclares all six asdependencies.apm;apm installdeploys them into.claude/skills/and.claude/agents/, both gitignored install output.providers/claude-code/— Claude Code adapter, deployed to~/.claude/viascripts/install.sh.
Edit .apm/, never the flat mirror
plugins/<name>/.apm/ is the only hand-edited source for plugin content. The flat plugins/<name>/{skills,agents,commands,instructions,extensions}/ directories, the merged plugins/<name>/hooks/hooks.json, and both plugin.json manifests are generated — nothing marks them as generated, so check the path before you edit. An edit to the mirror is discarded by the next sync and reported as drift by the check-plugin-content-sync pre-push hook.
Not everything in a plugin root is generated. README.md, docs/, bin/, sources.md, .mcp.json and per-plugin extras are hand-authored there with no .apm/ source — edit those in place. The rule is per-path, not per-directory. But a file placed inside a mirrored directory is deleted on the next sync (sync_dir runs rm -rf before every copy), so plugin-root documentation goes in docs/, never in hooks/ or skills/.
Full model: docs/spec/architecture.md.
Prefer plugin skills over raw shell
This repo dogfoods its own plugins. Before shelling out, check whether a skill already owns the operation — it usually does:
- Commits, branches, history, worktrees, remotes →
git-commits,git-branches,git-history,git-worktrees,git-remotes - Pre-commit hook install/config/troubleshooting →
pc-run/pc-author - Issues, PRs, labels, milestones →
gitea-issues,gitea-prs,gitea-labels-milestones; alsogitea-branches,gitea-files,gitea-releases, orgitea-workflowwhen the domain is ambiguous - Vale prose linting →
vale-config/vale-run - This repo's own AGENTS.md →
agentsmd-author/agentsmd-audit
Use the bare, unnamespaced names. The <plugin>: form (gitea:gitea-prs) also still resolves, because user-scope native installs were left enabled on purpose (ADR-0018) — a working namespaced call is not evidence that anything is broken and is not something to "fix". Prefer the bare name anyway: it is what apm install deploys, and what survives those user-scope installs eventually being converted.
Fall back to raw shell only when no skill covers it.
Session rules
- Do not add repo-owned keys to
.claude/settings.json. apm treats it as its own deployed artifact andapm audit --cireplays the install and diffs, so anything apm would not have written is permanent drift that fails theapm-audit-cipre-push hook. A hook you want here is authored inplugins/<name>/.apm/hooks/and deployed by apm, never hand-written into that file. Machine-specific settings go in the gitignored.claude/settings.local.json; shared enforcement goes in.pre-commit-config.yaml. apm.lock.yamlturning up modified is expected, not a bug. kyberforge'sSessionStarthook runsapm outdatedat startup andapm update --yeswhen something is behind, which rewrites the lock. Commit or discard it deliberately.- A
.apm/edit is not live in this session until it is pushed. The six dependencies resolve from the holocron remote, unpinned against the default branch.apm installdeploys from the lock;apm updateis what re-resolves refs. - The ADR-0020 skill gates ship hot, with no baseline. 26 of 39 descriptions and 9 of 39 bodies exceed their FAIL tier, and the
Kyberforge.CompositionNoteVale rule fires 10 errors acrossgitea-issues,gitea-labels-milestones,gitea-prsandgitea-workflow. Editing any of those skills for any reason means retrofitting it to the contract first — a one-line fix cannot be committed until the skill complies. Deliberate; tracked as Gitea issue #99.skill-size-checkwill not warn you about the Vale half, so check both:pre-commit run --all-files. - Run
bash tests/run-tests.shbefore considering any change done. - Before pushing, run the whole gate locally:
pre-commit run --hook-stage pre-push --all-files. Pushing runs 14 repo-defined hooks, not just the test suite. - Pushing without a network needs
SKIP=apm-marketplace-check,apm-pack-check-clean git push— those two resolve a remote marketplace entry viagit ls-remote. Skip only those two; the rest are real local checks, and adding one toSKIPdisarms it silently. - Author commits with
git-commits— it validates Conventional Commits, whichcommit-msgenforces. - This repo and Gitea are the only source of truth. All project state, decisions, and working conventions live here. Do not use an external memory system for this project — cached state diverges from the repo and you get a split brain. Before answering any design or architecture question, check
docs/adr/for an existing decision.
Key documents
Read CONTEXT.md at the start of every session — it is this repo's domain language, and the terms in it are used unglossed everywhere else.
Read these on demand:
README.md— prerequisites, install, and test commandsdocs/VISION.md— the phased roadmap and where this is going; read when a decision turns on product directionLESSONS.md— patterns that went wrong once; read before repeating a class of change that has burned the repo beforedocs/spec/gates.md— what each pre-commit and pre-push hook enforces and why; read when a gate fails or before changing hook configdocs/spec/architecture.md— directory structure, install pipeline, provider modeldocs/adr/— architectural decisions; read before answering design questions or proposing structural changesdocs/ai-constitution.md— full governance evidence base; read when a governance decision needs justificationdocs/research/ai-coding-factory/ai-coding-factory-principles.md— factory design rationale; read when implementing, auditing, or reviewing skills or factory structuredocs/notes/factory-integration-decisions.md— decisions from the factory integration grill; read when making skill authoring or factory design decisions- Governance rules are always in effect —
core/instructions/governance.md(agent rules);docs/research/governance_principles/CONTROLS.md