An open standard for context and knowledge.
How it Works
Three steps from scattered files to a project your agents can navigate — and keep navigating.
Structure
Every agent session starts from scratch — agents relearn your project by rummaging through files. aDNA ends that. Three directories (what you know, how you work, who's involved) give any agent instant orientation.
my-project/
├── CLAUDE.md ← agent master context
├── what/ ← what the project knows
│ └── context/ typed context files
├── how/ ← how it operates
│ └── missions/ decomposed work plans
└── who/ ← who's involved
└── governance/ roles & rules
Orient
Without a map, agents blast through irrelevant files or ask you to re-explain the project. Agents read your CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md first, then pull typed context at exactly the depth they need — not your entire repo, not a blank slate.
# CLAUDE.md — climate-pipeline You are working on climate-pipeline. A data pipeline for surface temperature records (1990–present). ## Priority Rules 1. Never overwrite raw sensor data 2. All outputs need uncertainty ranges 3. Ingestion changes need peer review
Execute
Context windows close and wipe progress — the next agent starts over. aDNA decomposes work into sessions, missions, and campaigns — context-sized chunks that fit a single agent window. What one agent learns, the next inherits.
plan_id: mission_schema_v2 status: active ## Objective 1 — Migrate schema - Status: ✓ complete - Files: data/schema.py ## Objective 2 — Backfill validation - Status: in_progress - Depends on: [1]
Who Uses aDNA
From solo developers to enterprise teams — aDNA scales with your project.
Solo Developer
Freelancers and indie hackers using aDNA as a personal knowledge backbone.
Enterprise Team
Cross-functional teams embedding aDNA into existing codebases and workflows.
Educator
Teachers and professors structuring course materials for student-agent collaboration.
Startup
Fast-moving teams using aDNA to preserve institutional knowledge as they scale.
Researcher
Labs and research groups tracking protocols, datasets, and experiments.
The Standard
aDNA is an open specification — MIT licensed, community-driven, designed for extension.