AI README Manager#

Manages AI_README.md files that document your project's conventions for AI assistants. Gives your agent persistent memory of project rules across every session and every iteration.

Setup#

Before this skill works, you must register the MCP server with OpenClaw:

Option 1: CLI (Recommended)

On macOS/Linux:

bash

openclaw mcp set ai-readme-manager '{"command":"npx","args":["ai-readme-mcp@1.7.2"]}'

On Windows (cmd):

cmd

openclaw mcp set ai-readme-manager "{\"command\":\"npx\",\"args\":[\"ai-readme-mcp@1.7.2\"]}"

Option 2: Edit config file

Add to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

json

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "ai-readme-manager": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["ai-readme-mcp@1.7.2"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Then restart OpenClaw and verify with openclaw mcp list.

When to use#

Call get_context_for_file before any code-related task — editing, creating, or reviewing files in a project.

Tools available#

• get_context_for_file — get relevant project conventions for a specific file path
• init_ai_readme — initialize and populate empty AI_README files in a project
• update_ai_readme — record new conventions or architectural decisions
• validate_ai_readmes — check quality and token efficiency of all AI_README files
• compress_ai_readme — remove filler language from an AI_README file to reduce token footprint
• discover_ai_readmes — scan and list all AI_README files in a project

Instructions#

MCP: ai-readme-manager#

Before any code-related task, ALWAYS call get_context_for_file(projectRoot, path) first. If get_context_for_file reports empty or missing AI_README files, call init_ai_readme(projectRoot) to initialize them. If the user's request or your plan conflicts with AI_README conventions (including during planning), STOP and call update_ai_readme to resolve the conflict before proceeding. When establishing new conventions or making architectural decisions, call update_ai_readme to record them. If AI_README is missing a convention that is already used in 2+ files, call update_ai_readme to record it. NEVER edit AI_README.md files directly with Write/Edit/other file-editing tools — always use update_ai_readme. Direct edits bypass validation, conflict detection, and quality scoring.