Workspace Contract
Goal: make the project readable to future agents in one load.
Process
- Read existing
AGENTS.mdandCLAUDE.mdif present. - Decide canonical file:
- Prefer
AGENTS.mdas canonical for multi-agent portability. - Use
CLAUDE.mdas a symlink toAGENTS.mdwhen supported and requested. - Use a short pointer file when symlink support is unknown or unsafe.
- Prefer
- Append or update a delimited AI workspace block. Preserve unrelated instructions.
- Include only operational facts future agents need.
- Verify links, symlink target, and absence of duplicated long blocks.
Required Sections
- Project identity and topology.
- Domains and owning folders.
- Setup depth and scope.
- Skills map: name, scope, trigger, location.
- Agent map: orchestrator, subagents, delegation rules.
- Verification commands.
- Marketplace/plugin sync rules when the repo has
plugins/. - Handoff path and continuation protocol.
Symlink Policy
Use this decision order:
- If both files already contain meaningful content, preserve both and add cross-links.
- If
AGENTS.mdis canonical andCLAUDE.mdis absent, createCLAUDE.md -> AGENTS.mdwhen the filesystem and user allow symlinks. - If symlink is unsafe, create a short
CLAUDE.mdpointer that referencesAGENTS.md. - Never replace user-authored instructions without preserving them.
Minimal Block
## AI Workspace
Depth: medium
Topology: monorepo
Canonical instructions: AGENTS.md
Skills:
- setup-ai-workspace: project setup and routing
Agents:
- workspace-orchestrator: cross-domain planning and delegation
Verification:
- Run repo tests or documented quality gates after edits.
Rules
- No marketing prose.
- No duplicated long policy blocks.
- No stale file paths.
- If this repo's
plugins/changes, update.claude-plugin/marketplace.jsonin the same change.