Claude Cognitive Files

🐛 v1.2.1 - Critical Bug Fix: docs_root Resolution

Status: Patch Release Date: 2026-01-12 Branch: main

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🚨 Critical Fix: Issue [#9]

This patch release fixes a critical bug where users were loading the wrong documentation files.

The Problem

Users reported seeing unrelated documentation files (like orin.md, asus.md, pipe-to-orin.md) that didn't exist in their project. These files were being loaded from the global ~/.claude/ directory instead of their project-local .claude/ directory.

Example User Report (Issue [#9]):

"Non of these files are files that are in my codebase and are not in my keywords.json. Unsure if it's a bug or if my installation is incorrect."

Root Cause

The context-router-v2.py script was not checking project-local .claude/ directories at all. It only implemented:

1. CONTEXT_DOCS_ROOT environment variable
2. Global ~/.claude/ fallback

This meant project-local documentation was completely ignored, causing users to accidentally load documentation from other projects that happened to be in their global directory.

The Fix

Implemented proper 3-tier priority order:

:::python
def resolve_docs_root() -> Path:
    """
    Priority order:
    1. CONTEXT_DOCS_ROOT environment variable (explicit override)
    2. Project-local .claude/ directory (if exists with .md files) ← NEW
    3. Global ~/.claude/ directory (fallback)
    """

Key improvements: - ✅ Project-local .claude/ now correctly takes priority - ✅ Explicit validation: Checks for .md files, not just directory existence - ✅ Helpful error messages if no documentation found - ✅ Debug output to stderr showing which docs_root was chosen - ✅ Fails loudly (not silently) if no valid docs directory exists

Validation Tests

All three priority levels tested and working:

:::bash
# Test 1: Project-local detection
$ cd /tmp/test-project
$ echo '{"prompt": "test"}' | python3 context-router-v2.py 2>&1 | grep "Using"
ℹ Using project-local .claude: /tmp/test-project/.claude
  Found 1 .md files

# Test 2: Global fallback (no project .claude/)
$ cd /tmp/no-local-docs
$ echo '{"prompt": "test"}' | python3 context-router-v2.py 2>&1 | grep "Using"
ℹ Using global ~/.claude: /home/user/.claude
  Found 64 .md files

# Test 3: Explicit override
$ CONTEXT_DOCS_ROOT=/custom/path echo '{"prompt": "test"}' | python3 context-router-v2.py 2>&1 | grep "Using"
ℹ Using CONTEXT_DOCS_ROOT: /custom/path

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📝 Changes

Added

• resolve_docs_root() function with explicit 3-tier priority logic
• Content validation: Verifies .md files exist, not just directory
• Debug output to stderr showing which docs_root was selected
• Comprehensive error message when no documentation found

Fixed

• Issue [#9]: Project-local .claude/ now correctly prioritized over global ~/.claude/
• Prevents accidental loading of wrong project's documentation
• Users no longer see files from unrelated projects

Files Modified

• scripts/context-router-v2.py (lines 39-107, 626-630)
• Added resolve_docs_root() function
• Replaced hardcoded global fallback with priority logic

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🚀 Upgrade Instructions

For All Users (Automatic Fix)

No action required! Just update to v1.2.1:

:::bash
cd ~/claude-cognitive-package
git pull origin main

The fix is automatic. Your project-local .claude/ will now be correctly detected.

For Users Who Applied Workaround

If you were using this workaround:

:::bash
# OLD workaround (no longer needed)
export CONTEXT_DOCS_ROOT=.claude

You can now remove it. The project-local .claude/ will be detected automatically.

Verification

After updating, verify the fix is working:

:::bash
# Run in your project directory
echo '{"prompt": "test"}' | python3 ~/.claude/scripts/context-router-v2.py 2>&1 | grep "Using"

# Should show:
# ℹ Using project-local .claude: /path/to/your/project/.claude
#   Found N .md files

If you see "Using global ~/.claude", check: 1. Does .claude/ exist in your project root? 2. Does it contain .md files? 3. Run ls .claude/*.md to verify

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🎯 Impact

Before v1.2.1 (Broken Behavior)

User's project/
├── .claude/
│   ├── auth.md         ← IGNORED (never loaded)
│   └── database.md     ← IGNORED (never loaded)

~/.claude/
├── orin.md            ← LOADED (wrong project!)
├── asus.md            ← LOADED (wrong project!)
└── pipe-to-orin.md    ← LOADED (wrong project!)

Result: User sees MirrorBot CVMP docs instead of their own auth/database docs.

After v1.2.1 (Fixed Behavior)

User's project/
├── .claude/
│   ├── auth.md         ← LOADED ✅ (correct)
│   └── database.md     ← LOADED ✅ (correct)

~/.claude/
├── orin.md            ← IGNORED (fallback only)
├── asus.md            ← IGNORED (fallback only)
└── pipe-to-orin.md    ← IGNORED (fallback only)

Result: User sees their own project documentation.

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📊 Test Results

Test Case	Result	Output
Project-local detection	✅ PASS	Found project .claude/ with 1 file
Global fallback (no project)	✅ PASS	Used global ~/.claude/ with 64 files
Explicit env var override	✅ PASS	Used CONTEXT_DOCS_ROOT path
Empty directory error	✅ PASS	Helpful error message shown

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🐛 Known Issues

None. This is a patch release addressing a single critical bug.

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🙏 Credits

Reported by: GitHub user via Issue [#9] Fixed by: Garret Sutherland (@GMaN1911) Company: MirrorEthic LLC

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🔗 Links

• Repository: github.com/GMaN1911/claude-cognitive
• Issue [#9]: Wrong documentation loading
• CHANGELOG: CHANGELOG.md
• Previous Release: v1.2.0 (Usage Tracking)

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📅 Release Timeline

Version	Date	Description
v1.2.0	2026-01-12	Phase 1 complete (usage tracking)
v1.2.1	2026-01-12	Critical bug fix (docs_root priority)
v2.0.0-rc	2026-01-12	Hologram integration (pre-release)

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This fix ensures your project-local documentation is always loaded correctly. Thank you for reporting Issue [#9]! 🙏