instruction files

AI Firmware is a boot layer of kernel rules, installable skills, and committed memory that makes every new agent repo start senior instead of relearning old lessons.

When an agent hits the same problem twice, encode the fix as a lint rule, CI check, or steering-file instruction that every future session inherits.

Audit Claude Code instructions, preserve project requirements, and test a smaller setup against the work you already trust.

Theo let Claude Code save memories on its own, then audited them: 45 files, written three times more often than read, most never opened again. How to run the same audit on your machine, the three ways saved memories rot, the ladder that finds a better home for each lesson, and what a harness built to pass the audit looks like.

An AI operating system is a folder of files your agent reads before every message. The four parts it needs, in build order, and the habits that fill it from your head.

Compare agents on one repeatable task, check the tools each can use, and keep your skills usable when you switch.

Use failed runs to repair skill descriptions, scripts, and checks. Test each change before keeping it, with Harness Firmware as a working example.