Project lifecycle

Skafold works best as a maintained planning layer rather than a one-time diagram. The visual project remains the team’s editing surface, while its AI Context URL gives trusted AI chats and IDE tools a current, structured view of the plan.

1. Develop the initial plan

Start manually, from a preset, or in a conversation with your preferred AI. Use Skafold Project Importer during AI-assisted discovery so confirmed requirements, assumptions, and open questions remain distinct.

When the plan is ready, ask the skill for one validated skafold-project-seed file. A seed is only for creating a new project.

2. Create the Skafold project

Import the project seed from the dashboard, or create a blank project and plan directly in Structure Studio.

The seed creates editable project context, Structure pages, journeys, reusable Sections, Page Hierarchy planning, design guidance, and technical architecture. Review the result before treating it as confirmed.

3. Establish the Project context

Capture:

• The problem or opportunity.
• Primary audiences.
• Project goals.
• Delivery principles.
• Global technical, content, accessibility, legal, or operational constraints.

The brief explains what the rest of the plan is trying to achieve.

Add Project Resources for important briefs, guidelines, research, or specifications held behind public share links. Include a short description so people and AI tools understand why each resource matters.

4. Map Structure

Add each meaningful route or application screen as a Page node. Connect pages only to their direct structural parent.

Home
├── About
├── Blog
│   └── Blog Post
└── Contact

Use User Journeys for focused multi-step goals such as signup, checkout, onboarding, or publishing. Structure is the authoritative source for page identity, paths, and parent-child hierarchy.

5. Compose pages from reusable Sections

Use Sections in the navigation rail for reusable definitions and Pages for page composition. Both workspaces share the same Section library.

• Keep reusable Section names and shared guidance stable.
• Use page-specific instance names where a placement needs clearer context.
• Order placements on each page.
• Track reusable-definition and page-placement status independently.
• Add grouped dividers when the library needs clearer organisation.

Page Hierarchy contributes planning, content intent, and ordered placements without replacing Structure as the page list.

6. Add supporting context

Add only what materially improves the plan:

• User Journeys for actor-led flows.
• Design Guidance for visual intent and reusable rules.
• Technical Architecture for stack, modules, services, integrations, data, stores, and constraints.
• Pre-flight checklists for explicit QA, accessibility, SEO, delivery, rollback, and launch readiness.

7. Review and collaborate

Review the project frames and use Pre-flight to track explicit QA, delivery, and launch requirements. Invite team members to edit, and use frame locks and save status to avoid overlapping changes.

For clients or stakeholders, create a separate view-only link with Share. Client-share URLs and AI Context URLs serve different audiences and permissions.

8. Create AI Context

Open Project Tools → AI Context and create the project’s shared bearer URL. The first creation publishes revision 1.

• The link belongs to the project, not an individual user.
• Every authorised editor uses the same URL.
• Copy the existing URL instead of generating another.
• Treat it as a secret because anyone holding it can read the published context.

9. Keep AI tools synchronized

Continue editing normally. When saved project changes are newer than the published context, Skafold shows Update AI Context beside Saved and inside the AI Context modal.

Choose it to publish the latest semantic project snapshot. The URL does not change. AI chats and IDE tools using that URL see the new revision on their next fetch.

10. Request a focused AI update

Give the AI Context URL to a task where Skafold Project Importer is active. Request one frame, any combination, or all eight frames.

Use this Skafold AI Context URL as the current source of truth.
Update Structure and Page Hierarchy for the new Services area.
Return one Skafold frame-update file and leave every other frame unchanged.

The skill reads the current snapshot immediately before generation and returns one skafold-frame-update. Every included frame is a complete replacement target; omitted frames are untouched.

11. Review and apply the update

Open Import AI update from Project Tools or from the floating quick bar in the relevant workspace. Both routes use the same import workflow.

Skafold validates the file, checks its frame baselines, previews additions, changes, and removals, and applies only the supplied frames after confirmation. If saved project changes are newer than the published context, choose Update AI Context first, then refetch the same URL and regenerate the update.

After a successful import, Skafold publishes the resulting project context so the same URL remains the current source of truth for the team.

12. Archive completed or paused work

On the dashboard, open the project's three-dot menu and choose Archive. The project keeps its content and workspace membership, while the default project list hides it.

Turn on Show archived beside search to include archived projects, marked with an Archived pill. You can open them with your existing access or choose Unarchive from the same menu when work resumes. Changing archive status requires project edit access.

See Using Skafold for the dashboard steps, or continue with Update an existing project with AI.