Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/XxYouDeaDPunKxX/Signal-Rail/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
01_orientation.txt is the file that makes the project understandable as itself. Before anyone can correctly read the live state, take a decision, or evaluate a freeze entry, they must first understand what the project actually is — its name, what it does, why it exists, which direction it follows, and which boundaries prevent recurring misreadings. That is what 01 does. It is not a diary, a roadmap, or a technical map. It is the frame through which everything else becomes legible.
What 01 is for
This file explains what the project is. It gives the right frame before the rest is read, and it prevents wrong readings of the project. A person who reads01 first should be able to understand the project without needing to read everything else first.
01 helps close project meaning but does not override 02, 03, or 04. If level, timing, or authority are unclear, stop and ask.
What goes here
Each piece of content that belongs in01 earns its place by answering a specific identity question:
| Content | Why it belongs here |
|---|---|
| Project name | Closes what we are talking about immediately |
| Clear description of what the project is | Lets someone understand the project without reading everything else first |
| The need or tension the project comes from | Helps explain why the project exists |
| The core direction the project follows | Helps the project stay legible even when work changes |
| The trade-offs the project accepts to stay alive | Shows how the project holds in reality |
| The main boundaries of the project | Shows what really belongs and what does not |
| The separations you do not want to confuse | Prevents recurring reading mistakes |
What does NOT go here
| What | Where it belongs instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Current work | 03_master_working.txt | Describes current live state, not project identity |
| Current blockers or next moves | 03_master_working.txt | Belongs to work in progress |
| Decisions already taken | 04_decision_log.txt | Records what has already won |
| Ideas still under evaluation | 05_latent_ideas.txt | Not yet closed; needs room to be evaluated |
| Repos, key folders, entrypoints, sensitive surfaces, minimal runbook, critical dependencies | 08_surface_map.txt | Describes where the project lives technically, not what it is |
| How you manage documents | Nowhere in Signal Rail | Does not define the project; defines a working method |
| Explanations about the tool or system | Nowhere in Signal Rail | Shifts 01 away from the project to its surrounding tooling |
| Backlog, diary, changelog, or manifesto | Nowhere in Signal Rail | Turns 01 into a page that accumulates everything |
File sections template
01 uses seven stable sections. These section titles are operational anchors — keep them stable and avoid unnecessary duplicates when the file is live.
Project Name
Project Name
project name: — Write the real project name. Closes what is being discussed immediately.What It Is
What It Is
Explain in 1–3 sentences what the project is. A new person should be able to understand it. Keep the tone clear, simple, and concrete.
Why It Exists
Why It Exists
Write the need, friction, or lack that made the project exist. Get to the point.
Core Direction
Core Direction
Write the guiding idea of the project. Temporary practical choices do not belong here.
Accepted Trade-offs
Accepted Trade-offs
Write the trade-offs the project accepts to stay alive. This includes the relationship with time, cost, friction, maintenance, real use, and concrete limits.
Main Boundaries
Main Boundaries
Write the boundaries that help explain what the project is and is not. Include only boundaries that genuinely improve understanding.
Hard Boundaries
Hard Boundaries
Write the separations you do not want confused. Include only the ones that help read the project without error.
When to update it
Update01 when:
- The correct way to understand the project changes
- The real perimeter changes
- A core direction changes
- Important trade-offs or boundaries change
The AI section rule
The AI section at the top of01_orientation.txt is the operative rule source for AI use of this file.
- Write here only if the content defines the identity-shape of the project: what it is, why it exists, what direction it follows, what compromises it accepts, or which boundaries matter to understand it.
- If this content describes what is happening now → use
03 - If this content records a choice that has already won → use
04 - If this content is still an open idea, direction, or unresolved option → use
05 - If this content maps where the project really lives technically → use
08
Typical errors
Master Working (03)
Current live state — where current work, blockers, and next moves belong.
Protocol Freeze (02)
Identity constants that are harder to reopen than the material in 01.
Decision Log (04)
Choices already taken — not the same as project identity.
Latent Ideas (05)
Live unresolved material that is not ready to be orientation yet.