Template Reference - create-ai-context

This page documents all templates generated by create-ai-context and their purpose.

📁 File Structure

project/ ├── DEVELOPMENT_PLAN.md # Project roadmap + development guidelines ├── ARCHITECTURE.md # Technical architecture + code standards └── ai-instructions.md # Step-by-step AI agent setup guidance

🎉 v0.2.0 Simplified: Reduced from 6 files to 3 essential files, all in project root!

📋 Template Details

📋 DEVELOPMENT_PLAN.md

✅ Version Controlled 📍 Root Directory 🎯 Strategic Document

Purpose: Living document for tracking project progress and development phases.

Key Sections:

Version history for plan changes
Project phases with clear milestones
Current status and next steps
Success criteria for each phase
AI implementation context

Usage: Update as project evolves, track decisions over time

🧠 ai-instructions.md

⚠️ Temporary File 📍 Root Directory 🤖 AI Setup

Purpose: Step-by-step instructions for AI tools to analyze and populate templates.

Key Sections:

Agent-specific setup instructions (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex)
Project analysis prompts
Template population guidance
Permission requirements for modifications
File cleanup instructions

Usage: Guide AI assistants through initial project setup, can be deleted after templates are populated

🏛️ ARCHITECTURE.md

✅ Version Controlled 📍 Root Directory 🎯 Strategic Document

Purpose: Technical architecture and design decisions documentation.

Key Sections:

System overview and principles
Component architecture patterns
Data flow and API design
Technology stack decisions
Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)
Performance and security considerations

Usage: Reference for architectural decisions and patterns, helps maintain system coherence

📝 README.md Handling

Note: README.md is no longer generated by default. Instead:

✅ Existing README.md: Tool detects and offers safe overwrite options
📝 Missing README.md: AI agents receive guidance to create comprehensive documentation
🤖 AI Instructions: Include README status and creation guidance

🤖 AI-First Template Population

Smart Division of Responsibilities:

CLI Handles: Basic project info (name, dates, project type, git defaults)
AI Analyzes: Technical decisions (frameworks, languages, architecture patterns)
Templates Include: Placeholder variables like [FRAMEWORK], [LANGUAGE] for AI to fill
AI Instructions: Guide agents through systematic project analysis and template population

🎯 Result: AI makes informed technical decisions based on actual codebase analysis, not CLI assumptions.

🔗 Template Relationships

The simplified templates work together to provide focused project documentation:

Core Documentation: DEVELOPMENT_PLAN.md + ARCHITECTURE.md
AI Setup: ai-instructions.md guides all AI agents
Version Tracked: Core documents maintain history of important decisions
Consolidated Content: Development guidelines and code standards merged into core files