# Claude Cowork Standing Instruction

**Status:** in_progress — text drafted and updated with Reference clause, awaiting Rob to paste into Cowork Projects on Connie
**Owner:** Rob (manual step on Desktop)
**Priority:** medium (needed for Ideas system write-back loop)
**Dependencies:** Ideas folder structure (done), vault sync confirmed (done)

## Overview

The Ideas system works for Hermes writing to `Hermes Activity/`, but Claude has no standing instruction to write session analysis back to the vault. This project is about adding one consistent instruction line to each Cowork project's Instructions block so Claude knows to append analysis to the active Ideas/Projects files.

## Milestones

- [ ] Draft the standing instruction text
- [ ] Add instruction to each of the 8 Cowork projects
- [ ] Verify: Claude writes a test note to an active project
- [ ] Verify: Hermes reads it back from the VPS

## Tasks

| Task | Status | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draft standing instruction text | done | Hermes | See below |
| Add to Cowork project: New RRR Website Build | pending | Rob | |
| Add to Cowork project: LinkedIn Posting System | pending | Rob | |
| Add to Cowork project: YouTube Training Videos | pending | Rob | |
| Add to Cowork project: Ad Hoc Rob Clone Video Project | pending | Rob | |
| Add to Cowork project: RRR Blog Posts & Case Studies | pending | Rob | |
| Add to Cowork project: Rob AI Avatar Videos | pending | Rob | |
| Add to Cowork project: GHL OS - Hermes Managed | pending | Rob | |
| Add to Cowork project: Local Service Business - Market Research | pending | Rob | |
| Test: Claude writes to a project, Hermes reads it | pending | Rob + Hermes | |

## Standing Instruction Text

Add this line to the Instructions block of each Cowork project:

> "When this project relates to an active idea or project in the vault (`/root/.hermes/vault/Ideas/Active/` or `/root/.hermes/vault/Projects/Active/`), append your session analysis to the relevant `claude.md` or `decisions.md` file using the naming convention in that folder's README. If no active project matches, write a brief summary to `Claude Activity/` with the project name in the filename. If you solve a config problem or discover a non-obvious flag/workaround, also write it to `/root/.hermes/vault/Reference/[topic].md`."

## Costs

| Item | Budget | Actual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to add instruction to 8 projects | ~15 min | TBD | One-time |
| Ongoing: Claude write-back per session | minimal | TBD | |

## Blockers

- Rob needs to add the instruction to each Cowork project manually (Claude Desktop UI, not automatable from VPS)
- After any Claude Desktop full quit, folder attachments may need re-verification

## Key Decisions

- [DATE] Standing instruction appended to existing project Instructions, not replacing — preserves each project's custom rules
- [DATE] Claude writes with approval (Rob approves before file saves) — matches the permission split Rob established 2026-08-06
- [DATE] If no matching active project exists, Claude falls back to `Claude Activity/` — ensures no session analysis is lost even without a dedicated project folder