CLAUDE.md is manual context
CLAUDE.md and rules files are great for conventions and decisions you want every session to see. They do not automatically stay aligned with a moving codebase.
Local Memory is a navigational index
agenkit memory build scans the repo locally (no LLM) and writes MEMORY.md plus machine-readable maps. Agents query symbols and imports instead of guessing paths.
- MEMORY.md and decisions.md can be committed for the team
- codemap.json stays gitignored and rebuilds on demand
- Phase 0 Orient keeps the index fresh during /agenkit