AI Context Best Practices: The Complete Checklist

The Context Mastery Checklist

After years of AI-assisted development, these practices separate context chaos from context mastery.

Daily Habits

Start of Day

• [ ] Load yesterday's context snapshot (if continuing)
• [ ] Review current state: "What was I working on?"
• [ ] Identify today's focus areas

During Work

• [ ] Keep threads focused (one topic per conversation)
• [ ] Note major decisions as they're made
• [ ] Capture constraints when discovered

End of Day

• [ ] Generate snapshot of day's work (2 min)
• [ ] Note any open questions or blockers
• [ ] Context ready for tomorrow

Weekly Practices

Weekly Review

• [ ] Generate comprehensive project snapshot
• [ ] Review decisions made this week
• [ ] Check for contradictions or gaps
• [ ] Archive completed conversation threads

Weekly Backup

• [ ] File system backup of Cursor data
• [ ] Verify backup integrity
• [ ] Rotate old backups (keep last 4)

Before Risky Operations

Before Renaming/Moving Projects

• [ ] Generate full snapshot first
• [ ] Note current workspace path
• [ ] Backup raw data
• [ ] After move: verify or recover context

Before Cursor Updates

• [ ] Generate snapshot of important projects
• [ ] Backup Cursor User folder
• [ ] After update: verify data intact

Before Switching Models

• [ ] Generate snapshot from current model
• [ ] Paste into new model
• [ ] Verify context transferred correctly

Snapshot Best Practices

What to Snapshot

• [ ] Active development projects
• [ ] Architecture decision sessions
• [ ] Complex problem-solving threads
• [ ] Anything you'd hate to re-explain

What to Skip

• [ ] Quick question threads (no lasting value)
• [ ] Abandoned exploration (superseded)
• [ ] Debugging sessions without conclusions

Mode Selection

• **Compact:** 90% of cases, daily work
• **Ultra+:** Architecture, complex decisions
• **Full:** Short threads, audit requirements

Team Context Practices

Sharing Context

• [ ] Maintain shared project snapshot in repo
• [ ] Update after major decisions
• [ ] Include context in PR descriptions
• [ ] Share domain knowledge snapshots

Onboarding

• [ ] Prepare onboarding snapshot for new devs
• [ ] Include setup instructions
• [ ] Define first task with context
• [ ] List who to ask for what

Handoffs

• [ ] Generate handoff snapshot before leaving
• [ ] Include current state and next steps
• [ ] Note blockers and contacts
• [ ] Share in accessible location

Quality Checks

Snapshot Quality

• [ ] Covers main topics discussed
• [ ] Captures key decisions
• [ ] Includes active constraints
• [ ] Timeline is accurate

Test: Context Transfer

• [ ] Paste snapshot into fresh AI chat
• [ ] Ask "What do you know about this project?"
• [ ] Verify response matches reality

Test: Decision Recall

• [ ] Ask "What did we decide about [topic]?"
• [ ] Verify answer is accurate
• [ ] If not, snapshot needs more detail

Recovery Preparedness

Know Your Data Locations

• [ ] Cursor User folder path
• [ ] Workspace storage location
• [ ] Backup locations

Regular Recovery Tests

• [ ] Monthly: verify backup restores
• [ ] Know how to scan orphaned workspaces
• [ ] Know how to use Custom Scan Path

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Don't Do This

• [ ] Rely solely on Cursor retention
• [ ] Skip snapshots when "nothing important"
• [ ] Use same thread for unrelated topics
• [ ] Let context get stale (weeks without update)
• [ ] Keep context only in your head

Watch For

• [ ] "I think we discussed this somewhere..."
• [ ] Re-making decisions made before
• [ ] Inconsistent approaches across codebase
• [ ] Long onboarding for new team members

Context Maturity Levels

Level 1: Awareness

• Know context loss is a problem
• Occasional manual summaries
• Some backup habits

Level 2: Practice

• Regular snapshot generation
• Before-risk snapshots
• Weekly backups

Level 3: Discipline

• Daily snapshot habit
• Team context sharing
• Integrated into workflow

Level 4: Mastery

• Context is first-class artifact
• Team-wide practices
• Continuous improvement

Where are you? Where do you want to be?

Quick Reference Card

DAILY:
Morning: Load context
Evening: Generate snapshot (2 min)

WEEKLY:
Review: Full project snapshot
Backup: File system copy

BEFORE RISK:
Rename/move: Snapshot first
Update: Snapshot + backup
Switch model: Snapshot + transfer

SNAPSHOT MODES:
Compact: Default for most work
Ultra+: Architecture/decisions
Full: Short threads only

Start Practicing

AI context mastery isn't one decision—it's daily context preservation habits. Start with your first snapshotStart with your first snapshot/cursor/blog/create-first-ai-snapshot-tutorial and understand the cost of not doing itunderstand the cost of not doing it/cursor/blog/hidden-cost-context-loss-ai-development.

**Try RL4 Snapshot**Try RL4 Snapshot/cursor/form — the context hygiene tool that makes these AI context best practices easy. Start with one habit. Build from there.

Your future self will thank your present self for good context hygiene.