/personal:dev:prime-context - Prime Session with Project Context

Purpose

Quickly establish essential project understanding in a new Claude Code session without overloading the context window.

Usage

/personal:dev:prime-context [focus_area]

Arguments

• focus_area - Optional specific area to prioritize (e.g., "api", "frontend", "tests")

Execution

1. Read core documentation (in order of priority)

   • Read CLAUDE.md if it exists (project-specific AI instructions)
   • Read README.md or README (project overview)
   • Read docs/README.md if it exists (detailed documentation)
   • If focus_area specified, look for relevant docs in docs/ directory

2. Analyze project type and structure

   • Check for package.json, Cargo.toml, pyproject.toml, go.mod, etc.
   • Identify primary language and framework
   • Run ls -la to see top-level structure
   • Note key directories: src/, app/, lib/, test/, docs/

3. Extract key technical details From configuration files, identify:

   • Project name and version
   • Main dependencies/frameworks
   • Available scripts/commands (build, test, lint, etc.)
   • Entry points (main, index, app)

4. Quick codebase scan

   • Use Glob to find main source files by extension
   • Identify architectural patterns from file organization
   • Look for configuration files (.env.example, config/, settings)
   • Check for test structure and coverage

5. Check recent activity (if relevant)

   • Run git log --oneline -10 for recent commits

6. Summarize findings Provide a concise summary:

   Project: [Name] ([Type/Framework])
   Language: [Primary language]
   
   Key Structure:
   - [Main directories and their purposes]
   
   Focus Area: [If specified, key findings about that area]
   
   Ready to go...
   

Optimization Strategies

• Skip large generated files: node_modules/, vendor/, dist/, build/
• Read selectively: Only read full files if they're critical documentation
• Use grep efficiently: Search for patterns rather than reading everything
• Leverage existing docs: Trust CLAUDE.md and README over code analysis
• Stop early: Once you have enough context to be helpful, stop analyzing

Other Rules & Information

• This is a generic fallback - prefer project-specific context commands if they exist
• Keep the summary concise - aim for <30 lines
• Don't analyze every file - focus on understanding the project's purpose and structure
• If CLAUDE.md exists, it likely contains the most important project-specific information
• The goal is to be helpful quickly, not to understand every detail