CMDS System Files v4.2 — Knowledge Architecture

// 01 CORE SYSTEM FILES

CORE SYSTEM FILES

5 files with structured frontmatter — each with precedence, memory-type, token-estimate, and audience fields. v4 introduces @include shared rules.

// 001

📋

CMDS.md

System philosophy and user context. WHY & WHAT — purpose, workflows, 9 categories, CMDS Process explained.

AUDIENCE:All LLM Assistants

PRECEDENCE:1

MEMORY-TYPE:STATIC

TOKEN-EST:~6,200

AI STATIC

// 002

💻

CLAUDE.md

Technical implementation guide for Claude Code. File operations, commands, vault rules. Uses @include for shared rules.

AUDIENCE:Claude Code

PRECEDENCE:2

MEMORY-TYPE:DYNAMIC

TOKEN-EST:~5,800

AI DYNAMIC

// 003

🤖

AGENTS.md

Portable technical guide for other AI coding agents. Gemini CLI, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf. Uses @include for shared rules.

AUDIENCE:Gemini, Codex, etc.

PRECEDENCE:2

MEMORY-TYPE:DYNAMIC

TOKEN-EST:~3,400

AI DYNAMIC

// 004

🏛

CMDS Head Quarter.md

Navigation hub for user. Quick access to all 91 subcategories, ChatGPT GPT links, and the full category map.

AUDIENCE:User

PRECEDENCE:3

MEMORY-TYPE:STATIC

TOKEN-EST:~2,100

HUMAN STATIC

// 005

📐

CMDS Guide.md

Operational standards. Properties templates, naming conventions, note types, folder structure, and status values.

AUDIENCE:User + AI

PRECEDENCE:3

MEMORY-TYPE:DYNAMIC

TOKEN-EST:~4,500

HUMAN DYNAMIC

// 02 ARCHITECTURE PATTERNS

ARCHITECTURE PATTERNS

9 design patterns discovered through iterative development of the CMDS system files — each solving a specific knowledge architecture challenge.

PRECEDENCE

Precedence Ordering

Each system file carries a numeric precedence value (1-3) that determines override priority. Lower numbers win when rules conflict across files.

precedence: 1  # CMDS.md wins
precedence: 2  # CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md
precedence: 3  # Guide / HQ

MEMORY-TYPE

STATIC / DYNAMIC Markers

Files are tagged STATIC (rarely changes, philosophy) or DYNAMIC (updated with new tools, rules). Signals update frequency and cache behavior for AI agents.

memory-type: STATIC # CMDS.md, HQ
memory-type: DYNAMIC # CLAUDE.md

@INCLUDE

@include + [[wikilink]]

Shared rules live in .claude/rules/ and are pulled into CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md via @include directives. Eliminates duplication across AI-facing docs.

@include .claude/rules/indentation-rules.md
@include .claude/rules/wikilink-rules.md

ESSENTIAL

Essential (Post-Compact)

Sections marked [ESSENTIAL] survive context compaction. When the context window fills, the AI retains these critical rules even as other content is trimmed.

YAML: 2 spaces. Body: TAB.
Wikilinks in YAML: quoted.

REQUIRED-FOR

required-for / optional-for

Frontmatter fields specify which agents must read the file vs. which can optionally reference it. Reduces unnecessary token consumption per agent.

required-for: [claude-code]
optional-for: [gemini, codex, cursor]

TOKEN-ESTIMATE

Token Estimate Field

Each file's frontmatter includes an estimated token count. Helps AI orchestrators budget context window usage before loading files into memory.

token-estimate: ~6200
# Helps plan which files fit
# in a 128K context window

CHANGELOG

Changelog Field

Each file's frontmatter links to the central CHANGELOG.md. Provides version lineage so agents know when rules were last modified and what changed.

changelog: "[[CHANGELOG]]"
# v4: Added shared rules
# v3: Added frontmatter standard

SHARED-RULES

Shared Rules Directory

Common rules extracted into .claude/rules/ as standalone files. Both CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md @include them, ensuring a single source of truth for critical rules.

.claude/rules/
  indentation-rules.md
  frontmatter-standard.md
  wikilink-rules.md

AUDIENCE

Audience-Based Separation

Files are split by who reads them: AI agents (auto-loaded), human users (manually referenced). No single file tries to serve everyone, keeping each lean and focused.

AI: CMDS.md, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md
Human: Head Quarter, Guide
Both: shared rules via @include

// 03 SHARED RULES

SHARED RULES

5 rule files in .claude/rules/ — the single source of truth for formatting, structure, and conventions. Consumed by CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md via @include.

⚙

.claude/rules/indentation-rules.md

Indentation Rules

YAML frontmatter uses 2 spaces. Markdown body uses TAB. The most common mistake in vault editing — enforced as a shared rule so every AI agent follows the same standard.

CLAUDE.md AGENTS.md

📄

.claude/rules/frontmatter-standard.md

Frontmatter Standard

6 required properties for every note: type, aliases, author, date created, date modified, tags. Defines ISO 8601 dates, array formats, and CamelCase conventions.

CLAUDE.md AGENTS.md

📁

.claude/rules/file-creation-rules.md

File Creation Rules

All code outputs go to 00. Inbox/03. AI Agent/{env-subfolder}/. Multi-file projects require a dated folder. Filenames follow YYYY-MM-DD-description.ext convention.

CLAUDE.md AGENTS.md

🔗

.claude/rules/wikilink-rules.md

Wikilink Rules

Internal references use [[double brackets]]. Wikilinks inside YAML must be quoted with double quotes. Supports aliases, headings, blocks, and embeds.

CLAUDE.md AGENTS.md

🗂

.claude/rules/directory-structure.md

Directory Structure

Maps the full vault folder layout (00-90 series) with purpose descriptions. Defines which folders are for inbox, process, literature, outputs, settings, and more.

CLAUDE.md AGENTS.md

// 04 FILE ARCHITECTURE

FILE ARCHITECTURE

How shared rules flow into system files via @include (auto) and manual reference. The architecture ensures single-source-of-truth for all formatting rules.

.CLAUDE/RULES/ (SHARED RULES)

INDENTATIONrule

FRONTMATTERrule

FILE-CREATIONrule

WIKILINKSrule

DIRECTORYrule

@INCLUDE (AUTO-INJECTED)

AI SYSTEM FILES (AUTO-LOADED INTO CONTEXT)

CMDS.mdprecedence: 1

CLAUDE.mdprecedence: 2

AGENTS.mdprecedence: 2

[[WIKILINK]] (MANUAL REFERENCE)

HUMAN SYSTEM FILES (REFERENCED IN OBSIDIAN)

CMDS HEAD QUARTERprecedence: 3

CMDS GUIDEprecedence: 3

// 05 CHANGELOG

CHANGELOG

Version history of the CMDS System Files architecture, tracked in CHANGELOG.md.

v4.2

2026-04-15

CMDS Process Command Suite

Added 8 slash commands aligned with CMDS Process (Connect / Merge / Develop / Share)
Stage commands: /connect, /merge, /develop, /share
Cross-cutting utilities: /inbox (router), /lint, /query, /status
Design principle: /inbox is router-only; /share is orchestrator-only (delegates to skills)
/query results classify into CMDS categories — no separate folder
Introduced 10 new camelCase frontmatter fields (mergePurpose, sourceNotes, shareFormat, etc.)

v4.1

2026-04-07

Description Field Standardization

Expanded required properties from 6 to 7 — added description field
New rule: description must be written in English (1-2 sentences) as an LLM relevance hint
Updated frontmatter-standard.md shared rule with English-only requirement and examples
Converted all 5 system file descriptions from Korean to English (exemplar role)
Added description check to CLAUDE.md Pre-Flight Checklist
Saved feedback memory for cross-session persistence

v4.0

2026-04-01

Shared Rules + Architecture Patterns

Added 5 shared rule files in .claude/rules/
Introduced @include pattern for rule reuse
Documented 9 architecture patterns
Added precedence, memory-type, token-estimate to frontmatter
Created CHANGELOG.md for version tracking
New essential (post-compact) markers for critical rules

2026-03-15

Frontmatter Standard + Share System

Introduced structured YAML frontmatter for all system files
Added description, audience, scope fields
Created share system with 8 placeholder rules
Backup/share copy workflow for sanitized distribution

2026-01-20

5-File Architecture

Split single doc into 5 audience-specific files
Added AGENTS.md for non-Claude AI tools
Separated human docs (HQ, Guide) from AI docs

2025-10-01

Initial System Files

Created CMDS.md and CLAUDE.md as initial system documentation
Defined CMDS categories (100-900) and vault structure

CMDS /
SYSTEM
FILES

CORE SYSTEM FILES

ARCHITECTURE PATTERNS

SHARED RULES

FILE ARCHITECTURE

CHANGELOG

GET THE
FILES

CMDS / SYSTEM FILES

CORE SYSTEM FILES

ARCHITECTURE PATTERNS

SHARED RULES

FILE ARCHITECTURE

CHANGELOG

GET THE FILES

CMDS /
SYSTEM
FILES

GET THE
FILES