Guides/Developers
Architecture Atlas: A Map of Your Codebase That Agents Keep Current
Give coding agents an architecture map they read before changing a subsystem. Charts are current or retired, and handoffs flag the stale ones your work touches.
Jose R. Gonzalez, CPA · Founder of ContxOS
Updated · 2 min read
In short
For development projects, ContxOS keeps an optional architecture atlas: one chart per part of the system, describing what it is for, how it behaves and what to watch out for. Agents read the relevant chart before changing that part. A chart is either current or retired, never quietly out of date: when a session’s work touches a stale chart, the handoff flags it for refresh or retirement.
Why agents need a map
Dropped into a large codebase, an agent reads files until it has a theory of how things fit together, and it does this again every session. An atlas lets it start from the theory and read files to confirm it, instead of the other way around.
How the atlas grows
- "survey project" charts one part of the system per pass, so the atlas grows as the work needs it.
- "atlas" opens the map, and the agent reads the chart for the area it is about to change.
- "edit atlas" refreshes a chart after a change, or retires one whose subsystem is gone.
The atlas is optional. A project without one works exactly as before, and restoring a session offers a chart when one would help rather than requiring it.
What to ask your agent
With ContxOS connected to Claude or another MCP client, requests like these work as written:
atlas
survey project
edit atlas: refresh the billing chart after today’s change
Limits and requirements
- Available on development projects.
- Charts describe behavior and intent. They point to code, but do not replace reading it before an edit.
Frequently asked questions
Is the atlas generated automatically from code?
No. The agent writes charts from what it reads and learns, and they are refreshed when work touches them. That is what keeps them focused on intent rather than repeating the code.
Give your agent a memory that lasts
Connect ContxOS to Claude in about a minute. The free plan includes one project.