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 ~/Code or internal projects in .claude/projects
• 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)
  /new-code-project <name>
    - Creates in ~/Code/<name>
    - Initializes git, README, .claude/CLAUDE.md
    - Registers in paths-registry.yaml
    - Creates context file at .claude/context/projects/<name>.md

  /create-project <name>
    - Creates internal project in .claude/projects/<name>
    - For non-code projects (writing, research, planning)
    - Creates project structure with config.yaml

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

CONSOLIDATE (ongoing maintenance)
  /consolidate-project <name>
    - Updates context file with current state
    - Syncs documentation with code
    - Creates git commit with changes
    - Options: --infrastructure, --analyze, --all

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

Project Locations

Understanding where projects live:

Context File Template

When creating project context files, use this structure:

markdown
1# Project: <name>
2
3**Type**: web-app | api | cli | library | docker | internal
4**Language**: typescript | python | go | rust | N/A
5**Location**: ~/Code/<name> or .claude/projects/<name>
6**Status**: active | maintenance | archived
7**Created**: YYYY-MM-DD
8
9## Overview
10
11Brief description of project purpose.
12
13## Key Files
14
15- `src/` - Main source code
16- `README.md` - Project documentation
17
18## Current State
19
20What's working, what's in progress.
21
22## Integration Points
23
24How 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 ~/Code/<repo-name>
3. Auto-detect language from file extensions
4. Add to registry under coding.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. /new-code-project my-feature --type api --lang typescript
2. Review generated structure in ~/Code/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

Project Knowledge Sync

1. /consolidate-project my-project
2. Review documentation updates
3. Commit changes
4. Update session-state.md if needed

Troubleshooting

Project not appearing in registry?

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

Context file out of date?

• Run /consolidate-project <name>
• Review changes before committing
• Update manually if consolidation misses details

Git clone failing?

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

Related Documentation

Commands

• @.claude/commands/new-code-project.md - New code project creation
• @.claude/commands/register-project.md - Project registration
• @.claude/commands/create-project.md - Internal project creation
• @.claude/commands/consolidate-project.md - Project consolidation

Context Files

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

Patterns

• @.claude/context/patterns/memory-storage-pattern.md - When to store in Memory
• @.claude/context/standards/documentation-location.md - Where to document