`CLAUDE.md`
The always-loaded project configuration that gives every interaction its baseline context: prose sections covering the AI-surface canon, operating loop, purpose, and disciplines, with the cross-cutting mandates operationalized in the rules cohort.
CLAUDE.md is the always-loaded project configuration. The host
harness loads it on every interaction, so its content is the
baseline context every other artifact extends. It stays coherent with
AGENTS.md (the canonical agent-instruction surface) and
.github/copilot-instructions.md, which mirror the same disciplines.
What it carries
The project CLAUDE.md is authored in prose sections — the AI-surface canon,
the plan → harden → ship operating loop, the project purpose and source
layout, the plans / release / file-header disciplines, ambiguity handling, and
the coding and harness-adapter conventions. It states what the project is and
how to work in it; it does not restate the governance mandates, which live in
the rules cohort and are surfaced to the runtime as rule files.
| Governance surface | Where it lives |
|---|---|
| Cross-cutting mandates (CM-N) | src/apothem/rules/operational-mandates.md and the per-mandate rule files |
| The fifteen production mandates (M-N) | the per-mandate rule files (definitiveness.md, pre-emission-gate.md, production-ready-prs.md, …) |
| Cognitive identity & architecture posture | src/apothem/rules/cognitive-identity.md |
| Seriousness-scaled governance | each rule's own Seriousness Scaling section |
The /plan pipeline | the /plan-* commands and src/apothem/skills/plan-suite/ |
| Artifact directories | the source layout — rules/, commands/, skills/, agents/, hooks/ |
Mandate identifier conventions
Three prefixes carry distinct meanings:
- CM-N — config mandate, defined in the rules cohort
(
src/apothem/rules/operational-mandates.mdand the per-mandate rule files). - TM-N — template mandate, defined in
src/apothem/skills/plan-suite/master-template.md§4. - CP-N — core principle, defined in the same template §6.
The plan-suite template is the canonical TM/CP registry; the /plan
pipeline stages resolve cross-references through that file.
See also
Directory-Hierarchy Tree
Visual map of the Apothem source tree structure showing ecosystem-config artifacts, runtime tiers, and the location of rules, commands, skills, delegated workers, hooks, and supporting files.
Multi-Surface Harness Conventions
Canonical normative reference for multi-surface harness configuration and coherence across chat, IDE completion, and PR review runtimes.