I'm building my first application, and I have really bad memory. probably not the best combination lol.
I use Codex for a lot of the work. We'd make a decision, fix something, leave another idea for later, and then the next session I'd be trying to remember how all of it connected.
The code was there. The reasoning was scattered.
I made Cricino because I wanted a better starting point than explaining the same things again.
A one-minute overview
Watch the narrated Cricino video
The animation uses synthetic narration and original music. It's an illustrative overview, not a recorded installation or proof of performance. The rest of this post explains the idea in text.
The checklist wasn't enough
A checklist helped me remember what to check. It didn't tell the next session which decision was current, what we had put on hold, or what had actually been verified.
I was still the person connecting all the pieces.
So the idea became simple: give the project a short entry point that leads to its goal, decisions, current work and parked ideas. Leave a useful handoff when the session ends.
The assistant has something concrete to read. I have something concrete to review.
Start with your own rules
Cricino includes a guide, templates and an optional installer. The setup is meant to ask about your project before adapting the records.
Things like:
- What are you trying to build?
- What is outside the scope?
- Which actions need your approval?
- Which checks matter for this project?
- Where should decisions and unfinished work live?
My application's checks are specific to my application. Copying them into somebody else's project would make little sense. Cricino provides a structure for defining those checks.
You can start with the public repository and its INSTALL.md. Give the setup document to your coding assistant, have it read the procedure, and review the proposed changes before applying them. Existing project instructions should be preserved.
A small example
Imagine you're building a bookmarks app. You decide that the first export format will be CSV, and PDF export can wait.
A useful record would say:
Current decision: CSV export for the first version.
Parked work: PDF export. Don't start it as part of this task.
Next task: implement CSV export using the current decision.
Verification: pending until the checks are actually run.
That's an illustrative example, not output from an executed installation.
At the end of the work, the handoff should say what changed, what was checked, what failed, and what the next step is. If checks haven't run, it should say that.
Try starting another session and see whether the assistant can find the decision and parked work from the records. If you have to quietly explain both again, the setup needs improvement.
I also created too much documentation
At first, the same update could end up in several places. That gave me more things to maintain and more chances for them to disagree.
The improvement was to keep the details in one place and link to them from the other records.
The entry point can stay short. The task can point to the decision. The handoff can point to the work and evidence. Every file doesn't need to retell the entire story.
What this doesn't solve
Cricino isn't a background memory service. The assistant still needs to read the records and maintain them.
If a decision is stale, a link is broken, or a session forgets to update the handoff, the system can still mislead the next session. A written rule also doesn't enforce a permission by itself. Use actual checks and access controls where you need enforcement.
It doesn't guarantee correct code, compliance, or a bug-free release. I haven't measured a universal speed improvement or token saving, either.
What I'm trying to make easier is the handoff: what we're doing, why, what we're leaving alone, and what happens next.
Try it somewhere small
The guide and templates are MIT licensed. Start with a small project and see whether the next session can pick up the right context.
I'd especially like feedback on the setup questions and the amount of documentation. Where does it help, and where does it become another chore? :)
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