13 · Files and commits

← 12 The .add/ bundle — ABF-1 format · Contents · Next: 14 The foundation and the five living specs →

---

ADD has no commands of its own. Everything it does is a file edit, a git command, or the project's test command. This page is the quick reference: which file each step writes, and which commit records it.

Orient

step	how
read the project	.add/PROJECT.md — goal:, invariants:, test_cmd:, and the CARD's state:/next:
find open work	grep -lE '^status: (direction\|build\|active)' .add/tasks/*.md .add/milestones/*.md
recent history	git log --oneline -15
one task's history	git log --oneline --grep='(<slug>)'

In Claude Code, /add status asks the skill to do the above and summarize.

The commits the method writes

commit message	when	what it contains
freeze(<slug>): <goal>	end of Direction, checks red	the task file (status: build) and every check file named in CHECKS — the seal
refreeze(<slug>): <why>	the contract was wrong and changed	the edited task file and checks, with the reason under ## LOG
(ordinary commits)	during Build	code and non-sealed tests, any message style the repo uses
verify(<slug>): <verdict>	end of Verify	the task file with ## EVIDENCE written and status: done (or build on a HARD-STOP)
<type>(<scope>): <what>	a Quick change	the test and the fix, with a one-line why

An Explore task uses the same freeze and verify commits; its ## FINDINGS are committed with the verify commit.

The seal check

F=$(git log -1 --format=%H --grep='freeze(<slug>)')     # also matches the latest refreeze(<slug>)
git diff $F HEAD -- .add/tasks/<slug>.md <check files>   # must print nothing

The fresh run

On a clean tree (git status shows nothing), run the task's check: command, then its regression: command, and record each as `<command>` → exit <code> · <counts> in ## EVIDENCE.

Which file holds what

you want	it is in
the project's goal and invariants	.add/PROJECT.md
what a task must do and refuse	the task file, ## RULES
what the agent guessed	the task file, ## ASSUMPTIONS
why the contract changed	the task file, ## LOG, and the refreeze commit
whether it was verified, and on what	the task file, ## EVIDENCE, and the verify commit
what a milestone must prove	the milestone file, ## EXIT
decisions every task must follow	.add/specs/<lens>.md, ## Decisions that bind
lessons not yet settled	.add/specs/<lens>.md, ## Deltas
an expert lens	.add/personas/<name>.md