genius-filelisted

# The Work File One piece of work = one markdown file under `.genius/`. The file is the contract: it carries the work across sessions, so no stage depends on conversation memory. Full template in [FILE-FORMAT.md](FILE-FORMAT.md). ## Where files live Default `.genius/<slug>.md` at the repo root. A `## Working Genius` section in `CLAUDE.md` or `AGENTS.md` may override the directory — check there first. Create the directory lazily, on the first work file. ## Read discipline - **Read before acting.** Any skill or session touching a tracked piece of work reads its file first — the file outranks whatever you remember about the work. - The `stage:` frontmatter names the stage the work is **currently in** (not the last one finished): `wonder | invention | discernment | galvanizing | enablement | tenacity | done`. ## Write discipline - **Write at the moment a decision lands**, not in a batch at the end. A gate that passed but wasn't written down did not pass. - Each stage owns one section of the file and ends it with its **gate** — a checklist of completion criteria. Check items off only when they are true; never pre-check. A conditional item whose condition never arose gets checked with an inline `(n/a — reason)` — honesty needs an idiom, or it hesitates. - Keep entries behavioral: interfaces, contracts, acceptance criteria. No *code* paths or line numbers — they go stale before the next session. Pointers to durable artifacts (an ADR, a spec doc, a docs page or tested snippet)