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+# Project context
+
+Read these on every session. Rules in them override defaults.
+
+@ai/shared.md
+@ai/backend-context.md
+@ai/frontend-context.md
+
+## Session start protocol
+
+Before responding to the first user message in a session, you MUST:
+
+1. Read `ai/shared.md`, `ai/backend-context.md`, `ai/frontend-context.md` in
+   full. Do not skim. Do not skip on the assumption they were read in a
+   prior session - context is not preserved.
+2. Run `git status` and `git branch --show-current`. If on `master` or
+   `main`, do NOT make any edits until a feature branch exists, even if
+   the user's first message looks like a quick read-only question. Many
+   "quick questions" turn into edits.
+3. Confirm in your first response that the rules were read and the branch
+   was checked. Do not narrate the contents - just acknowledge.
+
+Skipping this protocol caused real bugs and rework in past sessions
+(work landed on master, TDD order was lost, formatter not run, banned
+constructs slipped in). Treat the protocol as non-negotiable.