# Cheldrop — standing rules for Claude Code

- Before modifying ANY existing functionality, read `docs/cheldrop-functional-spec.md`, especially "What must not break". The roadmap is `docs/cheldrop-build-plan.md` — implement exactly one plan section per session, never more, never features not in the plan.
- Never rename the `window.pubit` IPC bridge. Never change the resource naming derivation `chel-{subdomain}-{domain-with-dashes}`. Never change the Workers asset hash formula `SHA-256(base64(content) + extension)` truncated to 32 hex chars (Phase 3.5 replaced the Pages one). `getDb()` stays a dynamic ESM import. The MCP contract is pasted into users' `claude_desktop_config.json`, so `127.0.0.1:3847/mcp` and the `x-cheldrop-mcp-secret` header name do not change; MCP tools call `ipc.js`'s exported functions and never reimplement a flow.
- The MCP surface is a standing context cost in every conversation a user has, so it stays small on purpose: a new capability is a **parameter on an existing verb**, not a new tool, unless its guardrails genuinely differ. Teaching belongs in the SKILL (loaded on demand); tool descriptions carry only what is needed to call correctly. Results are compact JSON with false/null keys dropped, and anything returned per-site multiplies by the user's site count — put it behind `detail` unless every caller needs it.
- Build only from `~/Developer/Cheldrop/app` (never via the Dropbox symlink or any cloud-synced path — cloud xattrs break codesign). Build with `npm run build:mac`; after any main-process change, run `npm run verify:mac` and require all checks green.
- Decisions in force (2 Aug 2026): password protection is R2-only (client-side guard is being removed in plan Phase 3); live sync is available on the free tier's single site; the managed folder root is `~/Documents/Cheldrops/`; `cheldrop.yaml` and `cheldrop.css` conventions are defined in the build plan's architecture section, and secrets never go in `cheldrop.yaml`.
- Commit after each verified feature with a descriptive message. If a change would violate the spec or the plan, stop and say so instead of coding around it.