# STATUS — [project name]

**Claude, read this first, every session.** This is the source of truth for
where this work stands. Before we stop, rewrite this file so the next session
starts from an accurate picture. Overwrite the old content, do not append.
Update "Status now," "Done this session," and "Next actions." If anything in
"The basics" changed, fix it too. If I forget to ask, remind me: "Want me to
update the status doc before we stop?"

## The basics
- **What this is:** [one or two sentences: what we're doing, who it's for]
- **What done looks like:** [how we'll know it's finished]
- **Where the work lives:** [doc, folder, repo, tool — with the link]
- **Rules that don't move:** [format, voice, constraints, anything you
  keep having to repeat]

## Status now
[Plain language, a short paragraph. What works, what's half-built, what's
untouched. Written so a fresh session with zero memory understands exactly
where things stand.]

## Decisions made (don't re-litigate)
- [decision] — [why]
- [decision] — [why]

## Ruled out
- [option] — [why not]

## Open questions / waiting on
- [what's blocked, or a choice you still need to make]

## Done this session
- [what changed today, in plain language]

## Next actions
1. [the single most important next step, spelled out]
2. [then this]
3. [then this]

## How to use this doc
- **Starting:** open a new thread, paste this in, say "Read this and pick
  up where we left off."
- **Ending:** say "wrap." That one habit is what makes any thread resumable.
- **This doc holds context only.** It doesn't hold your work product. That
  lives wherever it lives.

**Last updated:** [date] — [what was happening at that moment]