Write intent.md Before You Ask Claude to Build
A reusable project brief and three prompts to turn an idea into a specification, implementation plan and verifiable result.
A clear project brief gives an AI coding session a target you can check. Here is a practical intent.md workflow for the INTENT videos, with an original example you can adapt to your next small build.
Start with the reason for the work
Anthropic’s AI-Native SDLC playbook starts with a reviewed intent document, then moves through a specification, plan, implementation and tests. Each artifact is stored in version control. The suggested intent fields cover the problem, desired outcome, affected people and systems, constraints and unresolved questions. A human reviews the work at the relevant gates.
Read Anthropic’s AI-Native SDLC playbook
The file is a project artifact, not a magic filename that automatically launches that pipeline. Point your assistant at it. Your CLAUDE.md can continue to describe repository conventions while intent.md describes the change you want.
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