CDS Prevention Framework

Prevent Context Degradation Syndrome (CDS) — when an AI assistant loses track of project state between sessions, forgets architecture decisions, repeats mistakes, or ignores established conventions.

This skill reads and updates your project's persistent context files so Claude maintains complete awareness across sessions.

Session Start: Load Context

At the START of each session, this skill loads:

•.context/CURRENT_STATUS.md — What was accomplished last session, what's in progress, what's next
•.context/CONVENTIONS.md — Coding standards and patterns to follow
•.context/ARCHITECTURE.md — System design and how components connect

Then reads as needed based on your task:

•.context/MASTER_PLAN.md — Full roadmap, to understand where current work fits
•.context/DECISIONS.md — Architecture Decision Records to avoid re-debating settled questions
•.context/PHASE_CONTEXT.md — Which files matter most for the current phase

During Work: Follow Context

While working:

•Follow CONVENTIONS.md for all code you write
•Check DECISIONS.md before proposing architectural changes — the decision may already be made
•Record new decisions in DECISIONS.md when significant technical choices are made

Session End: Update Context

At the END of each session:

•
Update .context/CURRENT_STATUS.md with:
- •What was completed this session
- •What's in progress
- •What should happen next
- •Any new blockers or open questions
•
Update CLAUDE.md's Current Focus section if priorities changed
•
Create a checkpoint in .context/CHECKPOINTS/ if the session was long or made significant progress
•
Commit the changes (git add + commit with message describing what was done)

File Reference

File	Purpose	Updated
`CLAUDE.md`	Bootloader (Claude reads automatically)	Every few sessions
`.context/CURRENT_STATUS.md`	Where the project stands right now	Every session
`.context/MASTER_PLAN.md`	Implementation roadmap	When phases change
`.context/ARCHITECTURE.md`	System design and components	When architecture evolves
`.context/DECISIONS.md`	Architecture Decision Records	When decisions are made
`.context/CONVENTIONS.md`	Coding standards and patterns	Rarely
`.context/SETUP.md`	Dev environment setup	Rarely
`.context/PHASE_CONTEXT.md`	What to read per project phase	When phases change
`.context/CHECKPOINTS/`	Session summaries and snapshots	End of long sessions

Need to Initialize?

If you see [PLACEHOLDER] markers (like [CURRENT_TASK], [PHASE_NAME], etc.) in CLAUDE.md or .context/ files, run /cds-init to initialize the framework with your project details.

Other Commands

•/cds-init — Set up the CDS framework in a new project
•/cds-checkpoint — Create a session checkpoint documenting progress
•/cds-status — Show current project status and recent activity