Project Lifecycle Skill

Complete project management workflow from creation through consolidation and archival.

Overview

This skill consolidates all project lifecycle operations:

• •Creation: New code projects in projects_root (from paths-registry.yaml)
• •Registration: Register existing projects with AIfred tracking
• •Consolidation: Sync knowledge, update docs, create commits
• •Management: Track priorities, update context files

Value: Unified approach to project management with consistent patterns and documentation.

Quick Actions

Project Lifecycle Workflow

PROJECT LIFECYCLE
=================

CREATE (new projects)
  /create-project <name>
    - Creates in projects_root/<name>
    - Initializes git, README, .claude/CLAUDE.md
    - Registers in paths-registry.yaml
    - Creates context file at .claude/context/projects/<name>.md

REGISTER (existing projects)
  /register-project <path-or-url>
    - Clones GitHub URL to projects_root if needed
    - Auto-detects language/type
    - Adds to paths-registry.yaml
    - Creates context file

CONSOLIDATE (ongoing maintenance)
  - Update context file with current state
  - Sync documentation with code
  - Create git commit with changes

ARCHIVE (completed projects)
  - Move context to .claude/context/archive/
  - Update paths-registry.yaml status
  - Optional: Remove from projects_root

Project Locations

Understanding where projects live (from paths-registry.yaml):

Context File Template

When creating project context files, use this structure:

# Project: <name>

**Type**: web-app | api | cli | library | docker | internal
**Language**: typescript | python | go | rust | N/A
**Location**: projects_root/<name>
**Status**: active | maintenance | archived
**Created**: YYYY-MM-DD

## Overview

Brief description of project purpose.

## Key Files

- `src/` - Main source code
- `README.md` - Project documentation

## Current State

What's working, what's in progress.

## Integration Points

How this connects to AIfred infrastructure.

Registration Patterns

GitHub URL Detection

When user mentions a GitHub URL:

1. •Check if already registered in paths-registry.yaml
2. •If not, clone to projects_root/<repo-name>
3. •Auto-detect language from file extensions
4. •Add to registry under development.projects
5. •Create context file

Existing Local Project

When registering an existing local project:

1. •Verify path exists
2. •Detect project type and language
3. •Add to paths-registry.yaml
4. •Create context file
5. •Optionally initialize .claude/CLAUDE.md in project

Integration Points

With Session Management

• •New projects can be noted in session-state.md
• •Project work tracked via current-priorities.md

With Orchestration

• •Complex project setup may trigger orchestration
• •Use /orchestration:plan "setup [project]" for multi-phase setup

With Memory MCP

• •Store project metadata as Memory entities
• •Track project relationships and dependencies

With paths-registry.yaml

• •Source of truth for all project locations
• •Check before assuming any path

Common Workflows

Starting a New Feature Project

1. /create-project my-feature --type api --lang typescript
2. Review generated structure in projects_root/my-feature
3. Update context file with specific requirements
4. Begin development

Onboarding Existing Project

1. /register-project https://github.com/user/repo
2. Review auto-detected settings
3. Update context file with domain knowledge
4. Add any custom CLAUDE.md to the project

Troubleshooting

Project not appearing in registry?

• •Check paths-registry.yaml directly
• •Verify path exists: ls <projects_root>/<project>
• •Re-run /register-project <path>

Context file out of date?

• •Manually review and update
• •Review changes before committing

Git clone failing?

• •Check SSH key: ssh -T git@github.com
• •Verify URL format
• •Check network connectivity

Related Documentation

Commands

• •@.claude/commands/create-project.md - Project creation
• •@.claude/commands/register-project.md - Project registration

Context Files

• •@paths-registry.yaml - Project registration source of truth
• •@.claude/context/projects/ - All project context files

Patterns

• •@.claude/context/patterns/memory-storage-pattern.md - When to store in Memory