Library/Guide

Context Files

Most AI output sounds generic because the AI knows nothing about you. These three files fix that. Half a page each. Upload them to every project you create and the AI stops starting from zero.

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude Code · Updated 2026-09-09

Pattern 2 · Build your written context

get it

Starter template for all three filescontext-files-template.md
# about-me.md

## Role
[What you do, in one or two sentences. The title matters less than the work.]

## Who I serve
[Clients, customers, teams, or people who depend on your output.]

## What fills my day
[The recurring work: the meetings, the writing, the decisions, the reviews.]

## What good work looks like
[How you'd know a piece of work was done well. Standards, not aspirations.]

## Background
[Two or three sentences. Enough for an AI to understand your perspective.]


# my-voice.md

## Default tone
[Direct, warm, formal, casual. Pick the two that describe you most days.]

## Structure
[Short emails or detailed ones? Bullets or prose? Headers or not?]

## Words and phrases I use
[The ones that show up in your writing without you thinking about it.]

## Words and phrases I avoid
[Corporate filler, hedges, anything that makes you wince.]

## Examples
[Paste two or three short pieces you've written that sound like you at your best.]


# current-context.md

## Active projects
[Two to five. One line each: what it is, where it stands, what's next.]

## Priorities this month
[Three at most.]

## Key people
[Name, role, and one line on how you work together.]

## Recurring meetings and deadlines
[The rhythm of your week and month.]

## Constraints and preferences
[Tools you use, processes you follow, things that can't change.]

what it needs

Files to add alongside it.

  • about-me.mdWho you are and what you do. Your role, who you serve, what fills your day, and what good work looks like. Write it like you’d explain your job to a smart new colleague on their first day.
  • my-voice.mdHow you write and communicate. Tone, structure, words you use, words you avoid. Fastest method: paste three emails you’re proud of into an AI and ask it to describe your style. Edit what it produces.
  • current-context.mdWhat you’re working on right now. Active projects, priorities, key people, recurring meetings. This is the file you’ll update most. Even a rough version changes the output.

notes

How to write them

Split the template above into three files. Fill in the brackets. Thirty to forty-five minutes total.

Don't overthink it. A rough version you finish beats a perfect version you don't. You'll refine them the first time an AI gets something wrong about you, and that's the right time to do it.

Keep them as plain Markdown files somewhere you can find them. Every new project starts by uploading all three.

notes

Where they go

  • Claude Projects: project knowledge.
  • ChatGPT Custom GPTs: the Knowledge section.
  • Gemini Gems: the knowledge section.
  • Claude Code: reference them from your CLAUDE.md, or paste the relevant one into a skill.

tips

  • Update current-context.md whenever your projects shift. It’s the one that goes stale.
  • When an AI misses your voice, fix my-voice.md, not the prompt. The fix carries to every project.

Pick up something you can use today.

The library has prompts, guides, and design systems built for one job each. Copy it, add your context, and go. Free, no sign-up.

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