How do I give an AI tool context about my existing architecture?
A prose description helps but competes for attention and cannot be checked. The stronger approach is structural: a machine-readable map of the components and their relationships, plus dependency rules that fail a build when violated.
From Using AI on an existing codebase without breaking it, published 9 August 2026. That article is where the reasoning behind this answer is set out, including what it does not cover.