Getting Started

Get up and running with the AI Context System in 5 minutes.

Installation

Copy Files to Your Project

# Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rexkirshner/ai-context-system.git

# Copy to your project
mkdir -p /path/to/your/project/.claude
cp -r ai-context-system/.claude/commands /path/to/your/project/.claude/
cp ai-context-system/.claude/VERSION /path/to/your/project/.claude/

# Clean up
rm -rf ai-context-system

Verify Installation

ls .claude/commands/
# Should show 8 files:
# init-context.md, save.md, update-context-system.md,
# review-security.md, review-performance.md,
# review-accessibility.md, review-seo.md, review-cost.md

Initialize Context

In Claude Code, run:

/init-context

This creates three files:

File	Purpose
CLAUDE.md	Project entry point (auto-loaded by Claude Code)
context/STATUS.md	Current state, Working Set, next actions
context/DECISIONS.md	Append-only decision log

The command detects your project info from package.json, README.md, or asks you.

Your First Session

1. Start

Claude Code auto-loads CLAUDE.md. Read context/STATUS.md to see current state.

2. Work

Do your normal development work. The Working Set in STATUS.md lists 3-7 files you're touching.

If you need to edit files outside the Working Set, add them first.

3. End

Run /save when you're done:

/save

This updates STATUS.md with:

• Today's date
• Current git commit
• Updated Working Set
• Next actions
• Any blockers

It also autonomously evaluates the session and records any significant decisions to DECISIONS.md.

The Session Loop

This is the core pattern:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                     │
│   Start → Read STATUS.md            │
│     ↓                               │
│   Work → Edit Working Set files     │
│     ↓                               │
│   End → Run /save                   │
│     ↓                               │
│   (Next session)                    │
│                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Every session follows this loop. That's the entire system.

Commands Reference

Daily Use

Command	When	What It Does
/init-context	Once (setup)	Creates the three context files
/save	End of session	Updates STATUS.md, records decisions

Maintenance

Command	When	What It Does
/update-context-system	When updates available	Updates commands (v6.x → v6.y only)

Optional Reviews

Command	What It Does
/review-security	Security audit (report only)
/review-performance	Performance review (report only)
/review-accessibility	Accessibility review (report only)
/review-seo	SEO review (report only)
/review-cost	Cost optimization review (report only)

Requirements

• Claude Code CLI (for slash commands)
• Any project (language/framework agnostic)
• Git (required for installation and updates; optional for daily use if HeadCommit detection not needed)
• macOS, Linux, or Windows with WSL/Git Bash

Works with any AI tool that can read markdown files.

Next Steps

• CLAUDE.md Guide — Understanding the entry point
• STATUS.md Guide — Current state and Working Set
• DECISIONS.md Guide — Recording decisions
• Session Continuity — How context persists

Tips

Save Often

Run /save whenever you finish a logical chunk of work. It only takes a moment.

Keep Working Set Small

3-7 items is ideal. If you're touching more files, you might be doing too much at once.

Record Meaningful Decisions

Not every choice needs recording. Focus on decisions that:

• Affect future development
• Have meaningful tradeoffs
• Someone might ask "why did we do it this way?"

Trust the System

The Session Loop is simple by design. Follow it consistently and context persists naturally.

Upgrading from v5.x

If you have an existing v5.x installation, use the migration script:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rexkirshner/ai-context-system/main/migrate-to-v6.sh
chmod +x migrate-to-v6.sh
./migrate-to-v6.sh

The /update-context-system command only handles v6.x → v6.y upgrades. For pre-v6 migrations, use the script.

See Migration Guide for full details.

Troubleshooting

Commands not working?

• Make sure you're in the project root
• Check that .claude/commands/ exists with 8 files

Need help?

• Troubleshooting Guide
• GitHub Issues