# Establish Context First

> establish-context-first

- Skill: `claudiawong522/establish-context-first` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add claudiawong522/establish-context-first`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/claudiawong522/establish-context-first/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: claudiawong522 (https://skillmd.com/u/claudiawong522)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/claudiawong522/establish-context-first

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# establish-context-first

Confirm your working environment and available resources before executing task instructions to ensure accurate, informed execution.

## Establish Environmental Context First

Before diving into task execution, take a moment to understand your working environment. This prevents mistakes, wasted effort, and ensures your actions align with the actual project structure.

### Steps

1. **Confirm your current working directory**
   - Check where you are in the file system
   - Understand the project root and folder structure

2. **Survey available files and resources**
   - List key files, configurations, and dependencies
   - Identify project type, language, and tooling
   - Note any critical files (package.json, .env, README, etc.)

3. **Understand constraints and requirements**
   - Check for existing conventions or patterns
   - Identify any environment-specific settings
   - Note version requirements or compatibility issues

4. **Then receive and act on instructions**
   - With context established, proceed with substantive tasks
   - Reference specific files and structures with confidence
   - Make decisions informed by actual project state

### Tips

- Use `pwd`, `ls -la`, and file exploration to build awareness quickly
- For code projects, scan package.json, requirements.txt, or similar first
- Ask clarifying questions if the environment is unclear before starting work
- This upfront investment saves debugging time later

### Example

Instead of immediately editing files, first explore: "I can see this is a React project with TypeScript in `/src`, dependencies in `package.json`, and tests in `__tests__`. Now I'm ready to implement the feature."