LLM-Friendly Context

The goal is stable downstream execution: the next consumer should know what to read, what to do, what counts as success, and which unresolved decisions can change the result.

Core Rules

1. Use positive, executable instructions

   • State what the next consumer should do.
   • Convert quality policies into positive criteria.
   • Keep a prohibition only when it protects an irreversible boundary or shipped contract. Name the protected condition and the allowed action.
   • Example: "Preserve existing public API behavior across the documented compatibility cases."

2. Make vague instructions concrete

   • Clarify wording when plausible interpretations would change the outcome, scope, authority or proof. Supply purpose, evidence and selection criteria for reversible choices; reserve exact selections for actual consumer contracts and user-owned decisions.
   • Terms that often need clarification when they leave a decision to the next consumer: appropriate, proper, related, existing behavior, optional, as needed, if needed, per convention, unresolved alternatives, TBD, placeholder.

3. Specify output shape

   • Use the sections, fields, table columns, JSON keys, or checklist items the consumer uses.
   • For handoffs, include only produced artifact paths and status fields that control the next transition.