Project Genome

Generate and maintain a comprehensive (<5k tokens) YAML bootstrap file that gives AI agents instant codebase understanding, including AI-analyzed documentation mapping.

CRITICAL: Pre-Read Protocol

Before reading PROJECT-GENOME.yaml, ALWAYS execute this skill first.

This ensures:

1. Genome is fresh (skills_map current, file_structure accurate)
2. Documentation map is current (new docs discovered, stale docs flagged)
3. CLAUDE.md properly references genome at top
4. New skills are discovered and added to skills_map

Pre-Read Checklist (Execute Every Time)

# 1. Update genome with latest changes
python3 .claude/skills/project-genome/scripts/update_genome.py

# 2. Validate genome is under token budget
python3 .claude/skills/project-genome/scripts/update_genome.py --validate

Self-Verification: CLAUDE.md Integration

After updating, verify CLAUDE.md contains:

1. Line 3: > **Bootstrap**: Read [PROJECT-GENOME.yaml]... reference
2. Key Rules section: Rule about refreshing genome before reading
3. Skills table: project-genome skill listed with trigger

If any missing, auto-fix by reading CLAUDE.md and adding required sections.

Core Concept

PROJECT-GENOME.yaml is a seed file, not a full system. It provides:

• Instant project orientation (purpose, stack, structure)
• Semantic navigation (modules, key functions, dependencies)
• Documentation map with AI-scored importance (authoritative vs ephemeral)
• Agent-specific hints for efficient exploration
• Links to deeper resources (not duplicated content)

When to Use

Documentation Map Feature

The documentation_map section tracks all markdown documentation in the repo, distinguishing between authoritative (user-confirmed important) and ephemeral (temporary plans, working notes).

Why This Matters

AI agents frequently generate temporary documentation:

• Implementation plans (*_PLAN.md)
• Debugging notes (debugging-*.md)
• Session-specific scratch files

These should NOT be treated as authoritative project documentation. The documentation map:

1. Auto-discovers all markdown files
2. AI-analyzes each for importance signals
3. Auto-skips low-quality/ephemeral docs
4. Preserves user-confirmed authoritative docs across updates

Documentation Map Structure

documentation_map:
  # User-confirmed authoritative docs (PRESERVED across updates)
  authoritative:
    system_architecture:
      - path: "docs/ARCHITECTURE.md"
        purpose: "High-level system design and component interactions"
        last_verified: "2026-01-22"
    api_reference:
      - path: "backend/API_ENDPOINTS.md"
        purpose: "REST API documentation with schemas"
    component_guides:
      - path: "backend/CLAUDE.md"
        purpose: "Backend development patterns"

  # Auto-discovered docs (REFRESHED on each update)
  discovered:
    recent_plans:
      - path: "docs/QA_PLAN_20260122.md"
        importance_score: 0.45
        category: "implementation_plan"
    archived:
      directory: "docs/archive/"
      count: 12

  # Docs needing user review (cleared after --review-docs)
  pending_review:
    - path: "docs/NEW_FEATURE_SPEC.md"
      importance_score: 0.78
      suggested_category: "system_architecture"
      ai_reasoning: "Well-structured spec with diagrams. Covers new subsystem."

  # Validation state
  _meta:
    last_scan: "2026-01-22T14:30:00Z"
    total_docs_scanned: 47
    auto_skipped: 23
    missing_authoritative: []

AI Documentation Analysis

When this skill runs, the agent analyzes discovered markdown files to determine importance.

Analysis Process

For each discovered .md file (read first 3000 chars):

1. Evaluate Quality Signals (30% weight)

   • Clear H1/H2 structure
   • Contains code blocks, diagrams, or tables
   • References specific files/functions in codebase
   • Professional/authoritative tone

2. Evaluate Freshness Signals (25% weight)

   • Modified within last 30 days
   • References files that still exist
   • No “TODO”, “DRAFT”, “WIP” markers in title
   • Current tech stack mentioned

3. Evaluate Scope Signals (25% weight)

   • Covers entire system/module vs single task
   • Located in structured docs directory
   • Has “Architecture”, “Guide”, “Reference” in name

4. Evaluate Deprecation Signals (20% weight)

   • Located in /archive/ directory
   • Contains “deprecated”, “outdated”, “old” language
   • References removed features/files
   • Date in filename older than 30 days (e.g., plan-20251201.md)

Importance Score Calculation

importance_score = (quality * 0.30) + (freshness * 0.25) + (scope * 0.25) + ((1 - deprecation) * 0.20)

Auto-Skip Criteria (importance_score < 0.35)

Automatically skip (don’t prompt user) for docs matching:

• Located in /archive/, /old/, /deprecated/ directories
• Filename contains date older than 60 days
• Title contains “DRAFT”, “WIP”, “TODO”, “SCRATCH”, “NOTES” (informal)
• Less than 500 bytes (stub files)
• Filename pattern: *-debug-*.md, *-test-*.md, debugging-*.md
• Content starts with “# Notes” or “# Scratch”

Category Assignment

Execution Modes

Mode 1: Standard Update (Default)

python3 .claude/skills/project-genome/scripts/update_genome.py

What happens:

1. Script discovers all markdown files
2. Script outputs docs_pending_analysis.json
3. Agent reads each pending doc (first 3000 chars)
4. Agent calculates importance_score for each
5. Agent updates genome with documentation_map

Agent instructions for this mode:

After running the script, if docs_pending_analysis.json exists:

1. Read docs_pending_analysis.json
2. For each doc with needs_analysis=true:
   a. Read the file (first 3000 chars)
   b. Evaluate: quality, freshness, scope, deprecation signals
   c. Calculate importance_score (0.0-1.0)
   d. Determine suggested_category
   e. Write 1-2 sentence reasoning
3. Update PROJECT-GENOME.yaml:
   - Preserve existing authoritative section
   - Update discovered section with scored docs
   - Add high-score docs (>=0.50) to pending_review
   - Auto-skip low-score docs (<0.35)
4. Delete docs_pending_analysis.json
5. Report summary to user

Mode 2: Documentation Review

python3 .claude/skills/project-genome/scripts/update_genome.py --review-docs

What happens:

1. Script reads existing genome
2. Script outputs docs in pending_review for user confirmation
3. Agent presents each doc to user with AI analysis
4. User confirms or skips each doc
5. Agent moves confirmed docs to authoritative section

Agent instructions for this mode:

Present each pending doc to user:

For docs with importance_score >= 0.85 (RECOMMENDED):
  "⭐ RECOMMENDED: {path}
   AI Score: {score} | Suggested: {category}
   {ai_reasoning}

   Promote to authoritative? [Y/n]: "
   (Default YES - just press Enter to confirm)

For docs with score 0.50-0.84:
  "{path}
   AI Score: {score} | Suggested: {category}
   {ai_reasoning}

   Promote to authoritative? [y/n/skip]: "

For docs with score 0.35-0.49:
  "(Low score - likely ephemeral)
   {path} - Score: {score}
   {ai_reasoning}

   [Auto-skipping - press Enter to continue, or 'p' to promote anyway]: "

When user confirms a doc:

"Purpose (1 line) [{suggested_purpose}]: "
(User can press Enter to accept suggestion or type custom)

Mode 3: Bootstrap (No Existing Genome)

When PROJECT-GENOME.yaml doesn’t exist:

1. Run full discovery
2. ALL docs go to pending_review (nothing is authoritative yet)
3. Inform user: “No existing genome. Run --review-docs to classify documentation.”

Genome Structure (Complete YAML)

project_name: "Project Name"
last_updated: "2026-01-22T06:30:00Z"

purpose:
  summary: "Brief: Business goal, key features, users. <100 words."
  tech_stack: ["React", "Node.js", "PostgreSQL"]

repo_info:
  branches: {main: "Production", dev: "Development"}

file_structure:
  tree: |
    project-root/
    ├── src/           # Core logic
    ├── docs/          # Documentation
    └── tests/         # Test suites
  total_files: 42

architecture:
  overview: "High-level C4 context summary"
  patterns: ["MVC", "Event-driven"]
  diagram: |
    graph TD
    A[User] --> B[App]
    B --> C[API]

semantic_map:
  modules:
    auth: {path: "src/auth", files: 5}
    payments: {path: "src/payments", files: 3}
  flows: {}

navigation_hints:
  - "Payment logic: src/services/payments"
  - "DB schema: docs/schema.sql"
  - "Skills: .claude/skills/"

skills_map:
  skill-name:
    description: "What this skill does..."
    trigger: "/skill-name"

# NEW: Documentation map with AI analysis
documentation_map:
  authoritative:
    system_architecture: []
    api_reference: []
    component_guides: []
    testing: []
  discovered:
    recent_plans: []
    archived: {directory: "", count: 0}
  pending_review: []
  _meta:
    last_scan: ""
    total_docs_scanned: 0
    auto_skipped: 0
    missing_authoritative: []

recent_changes: "Auto-generated from last 5 git commits"

Token Budget Guidelines

Anti-Patterns

• Duplicating README – Genome is seed, not docs
• Full code snippets – Use function names, not implementations
• Listing all files – Top-level structure only
• ADR content – Link to docs/, don’t inline
• Updating every commit – Major changes only
• Including ephemeral docs in authoritative – Only user-confirmed docs
• Keeping stale pending_review – Clear after each review session

Example AI Analysis Output

When analyzing monorepo-docs/system-docs/MESSAGE_HANDLING_ARCHITECTURE.md:

path: "monorepo-docs/system-docs/MESSAGE_HANDLING_ARCHITECTURE.md"
importance_score: 0.92
suggested_category: "system_architecture"
ai_reasoning: |
  High-quality architecture doc. Clear H1/H2 structure with Mermaid diagrams.
  Covers critical realtime messaging subsystem. Updated 2026-01-21.
  References active code: realtime-sync.ts, [threadId].tsx.
  Located in structured system-docs directory. No deprecation signals.
signals:
  quality: 0.95
  freshness: 0.90
  scope: 0.90
  deprecation: 0.05

When analyzing monorepo-docs/debugging-carpet-issue.md:

path: "monorepo-docs/debugging-carpet-issue.md"
importance_score: 0.22
suggested_category: "auto_skip"
ai_reasoning: |
  Debugging notes from a specific session. Informal structure.
  Contains "debugging" in filename. Likely ephemeral working doc.
  Not suitable for authoritative documentation.
signals:
  quality: 0.30
  freshness: 0.40
  scope: 0.10
  deprecation: 0.20
auto_skip: true
skip_reason: "Filename pattern matches debugging-*.md"

Integration with CLAUDE.md

After running this skill, CLAUDE.md should reference key authoritative docs:

# Project Name

> **Bootstrap**: Read [PROJECT-GENOME.yaml](PROJECT-GENOME.yaml) first.

## Key Documentation

| Category | Authoritative Docs |
|----------|-------------------|
| Architecture | `system-docs/OVERVIEW.md`, `MESSAGE_HANDLING.md` |
| API | `BACKEND_API_COMPLETE.md` |
| Components | `backend/CLAUDE.md`, `mobile-app/CLAUDE.md` |

See `documentation_map` in PROJECT-GENOME.yaml for full list.