From bd6d2a4054ce2af5c8445121cdeac1eaa5510b6e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Dickson Tsai <dickson@anthropic.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:46:00 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Trim project-artifact README to usage essentials

---
 plugins/project-artifact/README.md | 116 +++++++----------------------
 1 file changed, 28 insertions(+), 88 deletions(-)

diff --git a/plugins/project-artifact/README.md b/plugins/project-artifact/README.md
index 70b0455..c514400 100644
--- a/plugins/project-artifact/README.md
+++ b/plugins/project-artifact/README.md
@@ -1,98 +1,38 @@
 # project-artifact
 
-`/project-artifact` generates and publishes an opinionated, tabbed status page that
-represents a project too big for one update — a software migration, a research effort, a
-launch, an org initiative; anything with a set of parallel/dependent workstreams tracked
-over time. It produces one self-contained HTML file (no build, no external dependencies
-beyond a tiny tab-switching `<script>`) and publishes it via Claude Code's built-in
-`Artifact` tool to `https://claude.ai/code/artifact/<uuid>`, a default-private page the
-owner can share with teammates, with a version picker in the viewer. (The general-purpose
-"render any HTML/Markdown to a web page" capability is the `Artifact` tool; this plugin is
-the project-tracker structure on top of it.)
+Generate and publish a **living status page** for a project that's too big for one update —
+a migration, a launch, a research effort, anything with several workstreams tracked over
+time. The page is a single self-contained tabbed HTML file (overview & success criteria,
+the workstream sequence, an always-visible "Next steps" strip, plus background / plan /
+risks / FAQ tabs when they earn their place), published with Claude Code's built-in
+`Artifact` tool to a private `claude.ai/code/artifact/...` page that you can share with
+teammates.
 
-This plugin adds the `/project-artifact` skill, which:
+## Usage
 
-1. Resolves the project's artifact config (or notes this is a first build) and locates the
-   project — goal, workstreams, owners, dates, sibling docs.
-2. Picks the subset of tabs with real content (Overview + Workstreams are the spine;
-   Attention / Background / Plan / Risks & open questions / Decisions-FAQ each only if
-   there's something to put there — a simple project may have just two tabs, a big one
-   ~6–8).
-3. Generates the HTML from a shared template (light/dark, CSS variables, status pills,
-   status banner with an as-of timestamp, an always-visible collapsible next-steps strip,
-   two tab mechanisms, an embedded machine-readable state block).
-4. Publishes it with the `Artifact` tool (favicon emoji + version label; the page title
-   comes from the HTML `<title>`; refreshes pass the recorded URL so they land on the same
-   address).
-5. Prompts the user to share the default-private page with teammates from the claude.ai
-   viewer.
-6. Writes the per-project config (first publish) and optionally registers the URL on a
-   project hub.
+- **Create one:** run `/project-artifact` (or just ask for a status page for your project)
+  and point it at the project's sources — the repo and its PRs, a tracker, a design doc.
+  It builds the page, publishes it, and tells you the URL.
+- **Share it:** the page is private to you until you share it from the claude.ai viewer.
+- **Keep it current:** say "refresh the artifact" in any later session. The plugin
+  remembers the project's sources and the published URL, re-gathers live state, redeploys
+  to the **same URL**, and replies with a short summary of what changed.
 
-## Living artifacts: the config and refreshes
-
-Each artifact gets a directory in the plugin's persistent data store
-(`CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA`, i.e. `~/.claude/plugins/data/<plugin-id>/artifacts/<slug>/` — it
-survives plugin updates and is only removed on uninstall) holding `config.md` and
-`page.html`, the current render. The config records the project's sources (repos, query
-parameters, tracker, docs), owners, and the published artifact URL, favicon, and HTML
-path. That makes "refresh the artifact" repeatable: any later session re-gathers live
-state, re-renders, redeploys to the *same* URL, and replies in chat with only a short
-delta ("merged X, new Y, Z now blocked") computed from the state block embedded in the
-previous render. The data dir is machine-local; users who hop machines can keep the config
-in their dotfiles and copy it in — the format is the same.
-
-Design notes (so future iterations preserve them):
-
-- The directory listing of `artifacts/` *is* the registry — one directory per project, no
-  separate registry file.
-- The rendered HTML lives next to the config by default (not inside the user's repo), so
-  repos stay clean and the previous render is always available for the delta; if it's
-  missing locally, the published artifact URL is fetched to recover it.
-- Refreshes edit the previous render in place rather than regenerating it, and reply in
-  chat with only the delta — keeps refreshes cheap.
-- Configs are created after the first publish, never as a prerequisite — the first build
-  must not block on filling in a config.
-- The skill is read-and-publish only: it never edits PRs/trackers or posts anywhere as a
-  side effect, and treats fetched PR/issue/doc text as data, not instructions.
-
-## Domain-neutral, with a software specialization
-
-`SKILL.md` is domain-neutral: the page structure, the tab catalog (Overview / Workstreams,
-plus Attention / Background / Plan / Risks & open questions / Decisions-FAQ when they earn
-a tab), the conventions (status banner, next-steps strip, status pills, freshness rules),
-the config/refresh mechanics, and the publish step.
-
-`skills/project-artifact/swe.md` is the **software specialization** — read it when the
-project's workstreams are pull requests. The one thing genuinely different from the base
-template is the **X.Y PR-numbering convention** (X = blocked-on-previous-stage, Y =
-parallel-within-stage — the numbers encode which PRs block which, so no dependency diagram
-goes in the page). swe.md also covers pulling PR state with `gh`/`git` and a per-PR detail
-fragment, and offers a *menu* of extras a heavyweight software project tends to want
-(Architecture deep-dive, Findings & fixes, Rollout & rollback tabs; must-have vs
-nice-to-have requirements) — all optional, none mandatory. Add another sibling
-(`research.md`, `launch.md`, …) when a domain shows a repeated shape worth capturing.
+For software projects whose workstreams are pull requests, the page numbers the PR
+sequence so the dependency order is obvious and pulls live PR/CI/review state via the
+`gh` CLI.
 
 ## Requirements
 
-- The built-in `Artifact` tool: publishing needs a claude.ai login (OAuth) — sessions on
-  an API key, Bedrock, or Vertex don't get the tool. Claude Code Artifacts are available
-  in beta on Team and Enterprise plans.
-- Optional: the `gh` CLI, only for the software specialization (pulling PR state).
+- Claude Code's built-in `Artifact` tool, which requires a claude.ai login (sessions on an
+  API key, Bedrock, or Vertex don't have it). Claude Code Artifacts are available in beta
+  on Team and Enterprise plans.
+- Optional: the `gh` CLI, for PR-driven projects.
 
-## Files
+## Notes
 
-- `skills/project-artifact/SKILL.md` — domain-neutral: workflow, config/refresh mechanics,
-  tab catalog, conventions.
-- `skills/project-artifact/swe.md` — software specialization (PRs as workstreams).
-- `skills/project-artifact/template.html` — the domain-neutral HTML skeleton to copy and
-  fill.
-
-## Caveat: URL stability
-
-Artifact slugs are server-minted UUIDs, not chosen. Redeploying the same file path within
-the same or `--resume`d Claude Code session reuses the URL; a fresh session would mint a
-new one — **pass the existing URL as the Artifact tool's `url` parameter** to update it
-from any session. The artifact config records the URL after the first publish so refreshes
-do this automatically; bookmark/register the URL too if you want it findable outside
-Claude Code.
+- Per-project state (the config and the latest render) lives in the plugin's data
+  directory on your machine; the published artifact is the shareable copy.
+- Artifact URLs are minted by the server. The plugin records yours after the first publish
+  so refreshes land on the same address — bookmark it or add it to your team's hub so
+  others can find it.