Persistent Project Context That Survives Every Chat

Overview

There are two kinds of context, and mixing them up wastes effort. State is what's happening now — the open task, the last decision — and a handoff carries it into the next session. Identity is what's always true — and that's what persists. This setup builds the persistent layer for Forge, an open-source CLI that runs across Linux, macOS, and Windows. The facts here don't expire: commands follow noun-verb, Windows is a first-class target, never assume a Unix shell. Write it once, paste it into every project, and stop rebuilding the basics each session.

Workflow

1. 1
   Separate identity from state

   Keep what's always true here; let a handoff carry what's happening now.

2. 2
   Write the durable facts

   Cross-platform support, command patterns, never-assume rules that don't expire.

3. 3
   Reuse it indefinitely

   One profile, every session, edited only when the project itself changes.

Why This Works

• Durable identity and per-session state are different jobs — this owns the durable half
• Facts that never expire only need to be written once
• The never-assume list locks in the project's hardest-won lessons permanently

Use cases

• Long-running projects across many AI sessions
• Cross-platform tools with environment gotchas
• Anyone separating durable facts from in-flight work