AI Vault: New Project Scaffold

When to use

Trigger for requests like:

• “make a new project folder”
• “create a new project under AI Vault”
• “start a new project called X”

Workflow (do in order)

1) Read the vault rules

• Open

  /Users/er/Documents/AI Vault/CLAUDE.md

  .
• Follow any “New rule” / project-tracking instructions found there.

2) Confirm inputs (ask only if missing)

• Project name (folder name).
• Owner (default:

  Erafat

  ).
• Status (default:

  active

  ).
• One-line note for the project list in

  CLAUDE.md

  .

3) Create the project folder

• Create

  /Users/er/Documents/AI Vault/<Project Name>/

  .
• If the folder already exists, do not delete or rename anything.

4) Scaffold required files

Create (or add if missing) inside the project folder:

• README.md

  • First line:

    # <Project Name>

  • Second line:

    Status tracker: \

    STATUS.md``
  • Include a short overview and “what belongs here” so the folder is understandable without opening other files.

• STATUS.md

  • Title:

    # <Project Name> - Status

  • Include a Snapshot section with:

    • Status: <active|paused|complete>

    • Owner: <Owner>

    • Start date: YYYY-MM-DD

    • Last updated: YYYY-MM-DD

  • Include:

    Goals

    ,

    Current Focus

    ,

    Next Actions

    ,

    Risks / Blockers

    .

Dates

• Use today’s date for

  Start date

  (only if new) and always for

  Last updated

  .

5) Update AI Vault memory

• In

  /Users/er/Documents/AI Vault/CLAUDE.md

  , add (or update) one row in the Projects table:
  • Project column should link to

    <Project Name>/STATUS.md

    .
  • Set status/owner/last updated.
  • Add the one-line note.

6) Initialize git version control

Every new project folder must be a git repository.

cd "/Users/er/Documents/AI Vault/<Project Name>"
git init
git add README.md STATUS.md
git commit -m "init: scaffold <Project Name>"

• If the folder is already inside a parent git repo, still run

  git init

  to create a nested repo (so project history is self-contained).
• Do not push to remote unless the user asks.
• Add a

  .gitignore

  with at minimum:

  .DS_Store
  *.zip
  **/node_modules/
  

7) Verify

• Confirm the folder contains at least

  README.md

  and

  STATUS.md

  .
• Confirm the

  CLAUDE.md

  table includes the new project row.
• Confirm

  git log --oneline

  shows the initial commit.

Guardrails

• Keep changes minimal: don’t reorganize other projects.
• Don’t overwrite existing project content; only add missing scaffold files and append/update the

  CLAUDE.md

  row.
• Treat the vault as sensitive: avoid PHI unless explicitly requested.