# Seth-Workflow-April-2026

A battle-tested AI-assisted development workflow distilled from 26+ projects across infrastructure, game servers, ML training, web apps, hardware control, and research papers.

This isn't a theoretical framework. Every rule here exists because something broke without it.

## Philosophy

1. **Dynamic composition** — Rules activate based on what you're doing, not a rigid pipeline. Debugging pulls in Five Whys. New features pull in brainstorming + TDD. Research pulls in the paper-writing workflow.
2. **Session discipline** — AI assistants forget between sessions. Files are the memory. If it's not written down, it doesn't exist next session.
3. **Proactive steering** — The AI should be a co-pilot, not a passive tool. It should know where the project is, suggest next steps, and detect when you're stuck.
4. **Security by default** — Secrets scanning, deny lists, and injection guards are not optional add-ons.
5. **Context is finite** — Token budgets are real. Tiered documentation lookup, sub-agent delegation, and session management all exist to work within that constraint.

## Quick Start

### 1. Copy rules to your project

```bash
mkdir -p .claude/rules
cp rules/*.md .claude/rules/
```

These are auto-loaded by Claude Code from `.claude/rules/` at session start.

### 2. Set up templates for a new project

```bash
cp templates/IDEA.md ./IDEA.md        # Fill in your project brief
cp templates/SESSION.md ./SESSION.md  # AI session memory (grows over time)
cp templates/CONTEXT.md ./CONTEXT.md  # Static infrastructure facts
cp templates/CLAUDE.md ./CLAUDE.md    # Project instructions for Claude
```

### 3. Install the pre-push hook (optional but recommended)

```bash
cp hooks/check-secrets-before-push.sh ~/.config/git/check-secrets-before-push.sh
chmod +x ~/.config/git/check-secrets-before-push.sh
```

Then add it to your Claude Code settings (see `settings/settings.example.json`).

### 4. Review the methodology guides

- `workflows/dynamic-methodology.md` — How rules compose based on task type
- `workflows/project-scaffold.md` — New project bootstrap recipe
- `workflows/paper-writing.md` — Human-AI collaborative research

## What's Inside

| Directory | Purpose |
|-----------|---------|
| `rules/` | Core behavior rules — drop into `.claude/rules/` |
| `templates/` | File templates for new projects |
| `hooks/` | Claude Code hooks (pre-push secret scanning) |
| `settings/` | Example Claude Code configuration |
| `workflows/` | Human-readable methodology guides |
| `docs/` | Philosophy and customization guides |

## Adapting This Workflow

See `docs/customization.md` for how to adapt these rules to your own projects. The rules are designed to be modular — use what fits, ignore what doesn't.

## Origin

Distilled from real-world usage across:
- Multi-agent AI systems
- Homelab infrastructure (70+ services, 4-node cluster)
- Game server operations and plugin development
- ML model training and evaluation
- Hardware control systems (3D printers, IoT)
- Human-AI collaborative research papers
- Web applications and API servers

Every rule earned its place by preventing a real problem.

## License

MIT. Use it, adapt it, share it.