đź“– The PROJECT_JOURNAL: AI Context Retention for Complex Projects

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:open_book: The PROJECT_JOURNAL: AI Context Retention for Complex Projects

TL;DR: We built an 18,902-line living documentation system that maintains perfect AI context across sessions. It works. It’s MIT licensed. You should try it.

:bullseye: The Problem

Ever had an AI forget everything you discussed last session? Ever spent 20 minutes re-explaining your project structure? Ever wished your AI assistant had perfect memory of every decision, bug fix, and lesson learned?

We solved it.

:light_bulb: The Solution: PROJECT_JOURNAL

A single HTML/Markdown file that:

  • Documents every session with timestamps and context

  • Maintains AI continuity across unlimited sessions

  • Captures decisions and their rationale

  • Records bug fixes with full context

  • Preserves team knowledge for onboarding

  • Acts as living documentation that grows with your project

:rocket: Real Results

Our Vibe CMS Project:

  • :bar_chart: 458KB of documentation

  • :memo: 18,902 lines across HTML & Markdown

  • :stopwatch: 40+ documented sessions

  • :bug: Zero context loss between sessions

  • :bullseye: Perfect AI continuity

  • :books: Complete project history

Live Example: commodorelove.com/PROJECT_JOURNAL.html

:artist_palette: What Makes It Work

  1. Session Headers: Date, time, goals, achievements

  2. Technical Details: Every decision documented with “why”

  3. Bug Chronicles: Problems, solutions, lessons learned

  4. Team Communication: Real conversations preserved

  5. Meta-Documentation: Document the documentation process itself!

:hammer_and_wrench: How We Use It

Every Cursor Session:

  1. Open PROJECT_JOURNAL.md

  2. AI reads previous context

  3. We add new session entries

  4. Document decisions as we make them

  5. Update with solutions & learnings

  6. AI maintains perfect continuity

Result: The AI becomes a true long-term partner who remembers everything.

:glowing_star: Unexpected Benefits

  • Onboarding: New team members read the journal = instant context

  • Debugging: “What did we try last time?” = documented

  • Decisions: “Why did we choose X?” = all there

  • Learning: See your project evolution over time

  • Transparency: Perfect for open-source collaboration

  • Portfolio: Show HOW you built something, not just the result

:jack_o_lantern: Real Example: Our Recent Win

We hit a UTF-8 emoji encoding disaster that corrupted our journal. The solution process:

  1. Problem: Documented in detail

  2. Failed attempts: All recorded (PowerShell issues)

  3. Solution: Python script with proper encoding

  4. Lesson: “Use Python for emoji operations, not PowerShell!”

  5. Context retained: Next session, AI remembered everything

Without the journal? We’d have lost hours re-discovering this.

:scroll: Open Source Template

Want to start your own PROJECT_JOURNAL?

GitHub Repository: github.com/CursorWP/ai-project-journal

We’ve open-sourced:

  • Clean markdown template

  • Session structure

  • Best practices guide

  • Real-world examples

  • CC0 License (Public Domain!)

Star it, fork it, use it! :star:

:thinking: “But isn’t this just… documentation?”

Yes! But better:

  • Traditional docs: Written after, often outdated

  • PROJECT_JOURNAL: Written during, always current

  • Traditional docs: What you built

  • PROJECT_JOURNAL: How and why you built it

  • Traditional docs: For users

  • PROJECT_JOURNAL: For AI continuity + team + users

:light_bulb: Try It Yourself

  1. Create PROJECT_JOURNAL.md in your project

  2. Add a session header with date/goals

  3. Document decisions as you make them with Cursor

  4. Next session: Have AI read the journal first

  5. Watch the magic happen

:rainbow: Our Meta-Moment

The best part? We documented the entire process of creating and maintaining the PROJECT_JOURNAL… in the PROJECT_JOURNAL itself. Including:

  • How we fixed encoding issues

  • How we added new sections

  • How we learned to backup properly (oops!)

  • Even this forum post creation

Meta level: Maximum :cyclone:

:bullseye: Bottom Line

If you’re building anything complex with Cursor:

  • You need AI context retention

  • The PROJECT_JOURNAL solves it

  • It’s simple, it works, it scales

  • Our 18,902-line journal proves it

Get the template: github.com/CursorWP/ai-project-journal

See it in action: commodorelove.com/PROJECT_JOURNAL.html

Questions? Drop a comment or open an issue on GitHub!

Built with: Cursor + Claude + Zero Dependencies

Template License: CC0 (Public Domain) - Use freely!

Our Implementation: MIT (Vibe CMS)

Status: Production-tested on Vibe CMS

Time Saved: Immeasurable

:rainbow: “Documentation that maintains AI continuity isn’t overhead—it’s infrastructure.”

Posted from Brisbane, Australia :australia: where we’re building while Silicon Valley sleeps!