Project instructions for AI context.
OneOrg project instructions are most valuable when they capture durable operating context: how the project works, what standards matter, and what AI assistants should not forget.
Write durable project context
Open the Instructions area in project settings to edit project-level guidance. Use it for context that should persist across AI-assisted work: client preferences, review standards, naming conventions, source priorities, delivery constraints, tone, and rules that stay true across many tasks.
Write instructions like an operating brief. Start with the project's purpose, then add the durable constraints that affect decisions. Keep them short enough to review. If the guidance reads like a task update, move it to a task or channel instead.
Review instructions when the project changes scope, client, process, team, or delivery standard. Stale instructions create stale assistant behavior. Someone should own the review cadence and know why the instructions changed.
Instructions are project context, not a prompt dump.
A useful instruction file should be boring in the right way: stable, explicit, and easy to audit. If a line will expire next week, it does not belong here.
If instructions conflict with a skill or agent, fix the conflict before running more AI work. Conflicting guidance produces inconsistent results. Use the save action only after that conflict is resolved.
A good review pass removes temporary facts and sharpens durable rules. Keep client preferences, source priorities, naming standards, and quality bars. Move weekly status, one-off blockers, and changing assignments into tasks or channels. If agents keep producing the wrong kind of answer, check project instructions before blaming the agent. The instruction layer is where stable context should live, so stale or contradictory guidance will keep showing up in AI-assisted work until someone fixes it.
Keep instructions from going stale
Use project instructions when the same guidance should shape many AI interactions inside a project. Pair them with skills when the team also needs repeatable procedures, and with agents when the team needs a recurring role.
Do not put secrets, temporary task notes, personal preferences, or one-off requests into project instructions. Use a task, channel, file, skill, or agent-specific configuration when the information has a narrower scope.