ATLAS Framework

A structured methodology for AI-assisted development built on the GOTCHA 6-layer architecture.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Building full-stack applications
• Creating agentic workflows
• Setting up AI assistant frameworks
• Designing data systems or databases
• Planning integrations with external services

The GOTCHA Framework (6 Layers)

GOT (The Engine):

• Goals (goals/) — What needs to happen (process definitions)
• Orchestration — The AI manager that coordinates execution
• Tools (tools/) — Deterministic scripts that do the actual work

CHA (The Context):

• Context (context/) — Reference material and domain knowledge
• Hard prompts (hardprompts/) — Reusable instruction templates
• Args (args/) — Behavior settings that shape how the system acts

Why GOTCHA?

LLMs are probabilistic (educated guesses). Business logic is deterministic (must work the same way every time). This structure bridges that gap through separation of concerns:

• Push reliability into deterministic code (tools)
• Push flexibility and reasoning into the LLM (orchestration)
• Push process clarity into goals
• Push behavior settings into args files
• Push domain knowledge into context layer

ATLAS Workflow (5 Steps)

Use this when building applications:

For production builds, also add:

• V — Validate (security, input sanitization, edge cases, unit tests)
• M — Monitor (logging, observability, alerts)

A — Architect

Purpose: Know exactly what you're building before touching code.

Answer these questions:

1. What problem does this solve? (One sentence)
2. Who is this for? (Specific user, not "everyone")
3. What does success look like? (Measurable outcome)
4. What are the constraints? (Budget, time, technical requirements)

T — Trace

Purpose: Design before building.

1. Data Schema — Define source of truth BEFORE building
2. Integrations Map — List every external connection (service, purpose, auth type, MCP available?)
3. Technology Stack — Propose database, backend, frontend
4. Edge Cases — Document what could break (rate limits, token expiry, timeouts)

L — Link

Purpose: Validate ALL connections BEFORE building.

[ ] Database connection tested
[ ] All API keys verified
[ ] MCP servers responding
[ ] OAuth flows working
[ ] Environment variables set
[ ] Rate limits understood

A — Assemble

Purpose: Build with proper architecture.

Build order:

1. Database schema first
2. Backend API routes second
3. Frontend UI last

Follow GOTCHA separation:

• Frontend — UI components, user interactions
• Backend — API routes, business logic, validation
• Database — Schema, migrations, indexes

S — Stress-test

Purpose: Test before shipping.

• Functional Testing — All buttons work, data saves/retrieves, navigation works
• Integration Testing — API calls succeed, MCP operations work, auth persists
• Edge Case Testing — Invalid input handled, empty states display, network errors show feedback

File Structure

project/
├── goals/          — Process definitions (what to achieve)
├── tools/          — Execution scripts (organized by workflow)
├── args/           — Behavior settings (YAML/JSON)
├── context/        — Domain knowledge and references
├── hardprompts/    — Reusable instruction templates
├── memory/         — Persistent memory system
├── .tmp/           — Temporary work (disposable)
├── .env            — API keys + environment variables
└── CLAUDE.md       — System instruction file

Memory System

The framework includes a persistent memory system for cross-session continuity.

Loading Memory

At session start, load memory context:

• Read memory/MEMORY.md for curated long-term facts
• Read today's log: memory/logs/YYYY-MM-DD.md
• Read yesterday's log for continuity

Memory Types

• fact — Objective information
• preference — User preferences
• event — Something that happened
• insight — Learned pattern
• task — Something to do
• relationship — Connection between entities

Search Capabilities

• Keyword search
• Semantic search
• Hybrid search (best results)

Anti-Patterns (What NOT To Do)

1. Building before designing — End up rewriting everything
2. Skipping connection validation — Hours wasted on broken integrations
3. No data modeling — Schema changes cascade into UI rewrites
4. No testing — Ship broken code, lose trust
5. Hardcoding everything — No flexibility for changes

Guardrails

• Always check tools/manifest.md before writing new scripts
• Verify tool output format before chaining into another tool
• Don't assume APIs support batch operations — check first
• When a workflow fails mid-execution, preserve intermediate outputs before retrying
• Read the full goal before starting a task — don't skim

First Run Initialization

On first session in a new environment:

1. Check if memory/MEMORY.md exists
2. If missing, create the folder structure:
• memory/logs/
• data/
3. Create MEMORY.md with template
4. Initialize SQLite databases for memory and activity tracking

Continuous Improvement Loop

Every failure strengthens the system:

1. Identify what broke and why
2. Fix the tool script
3. Test until it works reliably
4. Update the goal with new knowledge
5. Next time → automatic success