Context Files
A context file is an AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md in the root folder of a Project. Elowen adds its contents to the model's instructions when a conversation in that Project starts.
Use them for instructions that apply to work in that Project, such as coding conventions or test commands. Use Skills for reusable procedures across conversations.
Where context files apply
Context files are loaded automatically. There is no setting to turn them on manually.
- An administrator's own chat reads the file of the Project the conversation runs in. On the web, choose it from the Execution target menu in the chat header; in the CLI,
/cd <path>into it. A conversation that names no Project uses the registered Project its working directory sits in. - Managed Projects work the same way. The file is read from the Project's folder inside its environment. A stopped environment is not started just to read it; the conversation then opens without it.
- A chatbot account reads the file of the one Project it is bound to. This is how a chatbot gets its persona from its Project. Anything in that file reaches a prompt that website visitors talk to, so keep private notes out of it.
Only the Project's root folder is read. A file in a subfolder or in a folder above the Project is never loaded, and a working directory outside every registered Project loads nothing.
Context files are not loaded for other accounts, in shared platform channels such as Teams or Discord, or in delegated task workers.
What goes in a context file
Use one of these exact file names in the Project root:
AGENTS.override.mdAGENTS.md(orAGENTS.MD)CLAUDE.md(orCLAUDE.MD)
When several exist, only the first one in this order is loaded. A file larger than 256 KiB is not loaded at all.
Elowen adds the contents to the model's instructions. A context file does not create a Project, change the working directory or grant access to tools, files or other resources. The account's existing permissions still apply.
When changes take effect
The file is read once, when the conversation is set up, and stays the same for every message after that. This keeps the model's instructions identical between messages, which keeps responses fast and cheaper.
An edit takes effect when the conversation is set up again: in a new conversation, after switching the model, after Elowen restarts, or after the conversation has been idle for about 30 minutes.
If instructions are missing, check that the file sits in the Project's root folder with an exact name from the list above, that the conversation runs in that Project, and that it is an administrator's own chat or a chatbot bound to that Project.