#contextengineering

Your repository already is your project's memory. README → what docs → how tests → expected behavior Git → what changed, when and by whom Coding agents exposed the missing layer: context/ → why Why the workaround exists. Why an approach was rejected. Why something that looks wrong is intentional. My argument: project memory doesn't need to begin with another database or service. Complete the structure we already have and keep the knowledge with the code. https://oliver-zehentleitner.github.io/repo-native-project-memory/ It's a thesis, not a product. Criticism very welcome. #AI #CodingAgents #SoftwareEngineering #DevTools #ContextEngineering #ProjectMemory #Git #OpenSource #LLM

I keep coming back to one idea: Every repository should carry its own memory. Git shows what changed, but not the decisions that never became code. A week later, a fresh agent can have the same bad idea again. Keep the Why puts that reasoning next to the code. https://keepthewhy.com #CodingAgents #AgentMemory #AIEngineering #OpenSource #SoftwareEngineering #DevTools #ContextEngineering #Git

Someone “cleaned up” the workaround. The code looked simpler. Then the production bug came back. That strange delay was not just ugly code. It carried knowledge: The upstream API could replay the same order unless the request was handled carefully. But the reason existed only in someone’s head. Keep the Why is an agent skill that captures this kind of rationale as a natural by-product of development and stores it as versioned Markdown inside the project. So before the next developer or agent removes the workaround, they can see: • why it exists • what was already tried • what could break • what must change before it can safely be removed Legacy does not begin when code gets old. It begins when the reason disappears. Free and open source: https://keepthewhy.com/ What “ugly” workaround in your codebase is actually carrying important knowledge? #OpenSource #AIEngineering #DeveloperTools #SoftwareEngineering #CodingAgents #ContextEngineering #TechnicalDebt #Documentation