prep.md

The open standard for AI-readable project folders

The memory belongs to the project, not the AI.

Your projects, readable by any AI or agent — context in seconds. Set up in one minute:

Set up in three steps

  1. Download the starter folder

    A ready-made Projects folder with the standard and the operating instructions already inside.

    Download the starter folder

  2. Drop it into your cloud drive

    Unzip it and move the Projects folder to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive — anywhere your AI can read files.

  3. Tell your AI to read it

    In ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini — any chat with file access — say the command below. It reads the folder and picks up where you left off.

    Read my Projects folder

What you just set up

  • Switch chats — or switch AIs entirely — and the work continues.
  • The memory belongs to the project, not the AI.
  • Plain text and folders. Nothing locked inside one app.
A chat window flowing into a PROJECTS recipe box — save in any AI.
Save in any AI
An open folder holding three cards: PREP.md, LOG.md, memory/ — the folder is the memory.
The folder is the memory
One folder feeding three different AI chat windows — open in any other AI.
Open in any other AI

A project at a glance

Sunday Sourdough/
├── PREP.md      ← what this is, where it stands, what to read
├── LOG.md       ← append-only history, one dated line per session
└── memory/      ← a full snapshot of each session

PREP.md is the entry point. Its MAP tells the AI what to read and when, so it boots light instead of scanning everything. Optional files like knowledge/, TOOLS.md and DECISIONS.md join only when a project needs them.

One standard, three kinds of project

Personal work

Your dog's health notes, a weekend side project, what you're studying — a life kept in folders any AI can pick up, for years.

Team work

A shared project a colleague can open with a different AI and continue instantly. The context isn't trapped in one person's chat history.

AI agents

An agent with no context guesses. PREP is its onboarding in seconds: goal, state, history, decisions — and, with TOOLS.md, which tools it may use.

Prefer to start from a prompt?

The starter folder includes the prompt, so most people never need this. But if you'd rather set things up by hand, copy the PREP prompt and paste it into a Project's instructions in ChatGPT or Claude.

Read the standard

PREP is a short, open specification — small enough to read in five minutes. It's free to use, adapt and build on, with attribution.

Read the specView on GitHub