
Context-Driven Development
FreeManage project context artifacts for better team alignment.
Free · Opens the source repo
What Context-Driven Development does
Context-Driven Development is a skill designed to help teams implement and maintain structured project documentation alongside their code. By creating and managing context artifacts such as product.md, tech-stack.md, workflow.md, and tracks.md in a dedicated conductor/ directory, this skill ensures that all project stakeholders have access to up-to-date and relevant information. This is particularly useful for both new projects and existing codebases, as it allows for seamless onboarding and clear communication of project details.
The skill facilitates the scaffolding of new projects from scratch and the extraction of context from existing codebases. It also validates the consistency of these artifacts before implementation, ensuring that all documentation is accurate and reflective of the current state of the project. As projects evolve, the skill synchronizes the context documents, making it easy to keep track of changes and updates.
This skill is ideal for developers and designers who want to maintain clarity and consistency throughout the development process. It is especially beneficial when setting up new projects, managing documentation, or onboarding team members to an existing project. By adhering to best practices such as making small updates, linking decisions to context, and regularly validating artifacts, teams can enhance their workflow and improve collaboration.
Overall, Context-Driven Development empowers teams to create a shared understanding of their projects, leading to more efficient and effective development cycles. It encourages proactive management of context, which is essential for successful AI-assisted development sessions and project execution.
When to use it
Use this skill when starting new projects, updating documentation, or onboarding team members to ensure everyone is aligned with the project's context.
When not to use it
This skill may not be suitable for very small projects where formal documentation is unnecessary or for teams that do not require structured context management.
What you can build with it
Starting a New Project
Use this skill to scaffold a new project, ensuring all necessary context artifacts are created from the outset.
Onboarding New Team Members
Leverage context artifacts to provide new team members with a comprehensive understanding of the project's goals and workflows.
Maintaining Documentation Consistency
Regularly validate and update context artifacts as the project evolves to keep documentation aligned with the current state of development.
How to install Context-Driven Development
View source1. Install with the skills CLI
npx skills add wshobson/agents/context-driven-development --agent claude-code2. Or install it manually
Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.
Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs
Inside SKILL.md
Written by wshobsonContext-Driven Development
Guide for implementing and maintaining context as a managed artifact alongside code, enabling consistent AI interactions and team alignment through structured project documentation.
When to Use This Skill
- Setting up new projects with Conductor
- Understanding the relationship between context artifacts
- Maintaining consistency across AI-assisted development sessions
- Onboarding team members to an existing Conductor project
- Deciding when to update context documents
- Managing greenfield vs brownfield project contexts
Detailed patterns and worked examples
Detailed pattern documentation lives in references/details.md. Read that file when the navigation tier above is insufficient.
Best Practices
- Read context first: Always read relevant artifacts before starting work
- Small updates: Make incremental context changes, not massive rewrites
- Link decisions: Reference context when making implementation choices
- Version context: Commit context changes alongside code changes
- Review context: Include context artifact reviews in code reviews
- Validate regularly: Run context validation checklist before major work
- Communicate changes: Notify team when context artifacts change significantly
- Preserve history: Use git to track context evolution over time
- Question staleness: If context feels wrong, investigate and update
- Keep it actionable: Every context item should inform a decision or behavior
Frequently asked questions about Context-Driven Development
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