The five questions, answered permanently. On the Mac, the same map exists as a real folder: ~/KAIRO/_MAP/, numbered shortcuts to every single thing on this page. Open it in Finder and click.
1 · The ONE file vanilla Claude reads every time
/Users/ant_mba/.claude/CLAUDE.md
Every single Claude Code session on this Mac loads this file first, no matter what folder it starts in. Majesty rule, TLDR footer, KASP safety tiers, folder boundaries: all 78 lines live here.
Why you could never find it: the .claude folder is HIDDEN in Finder (anything starting with a dot is). Press Cmd+Shift+Period in Finder to toggle hidden files, or just use ~/KAIRO/_MAP/01-MASTER-RULES-vanilla-claude.md which is a visible shortcut straight to it.
2 · How KAIRO activates
1
You open a terminal and run claude inside ~/KAIRO (or pick it from the proj picker). Nothing magic yet.
2
Master rules load automatically: ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md. This happens in EVERY session everywhere. You are always getting the rules.
3
The thin map loads: ~/CLAUDE.md (25 lines). It is intentionally rules-free; it just points to where state and truth live. KAIRO folders inherit it because they sit under your home folder.
4
Startup hooks fire: the KAIRO self-check (folder, mode, voice flag) and the Vault status line print at the top of the session.
5
Claude reads ~/KAIRO/brain/STATE.md for current orientation (active task, blockers, priorities). Saying "activate kairo" makes this boot explicit, but any session in the folder gets the same load.
6
Deep layers load on demand: auto-memory recall (the ChatGPT-style memory), architect-patterns.md (the soul file), skills, and each project's own CLAUDE.md when you enter its folder.
3 · All the files, one atlas
Master rules (vanilla)~/.claude/CLAUDE.mdHidden folder. Every session, every time.
KAIRO thin index~/CLAUDE.md25-line map, zero rules by design (your Jul 8 decision).
Current state~/KAIRO/brain/STATE.mdFirst read of every KAIRO session.
The soul / behavior file~/KAIRO/brain/architect-patterns.mdMay 2026 dossier + the 7 rules restored Jul 11.
Auto-memory (ChatGPT-style)~/.claude/projects/-Users-ant-mba-KAIRO/memory/100+ recall files. MEMORY.md is the index.
Mistakes ledger~/KAIRO/brain/mistakes.mdScar tissue. Read before risky work.
Media Transcriber (dev)~/Dev/tiktok_transcriber/CLAUDE.md
5 · Why things are spread out + safe consolidation
Four trees exist because four different things OWN them:
~/KAIRO = the brain. You own it. Everything orchestration lives here.
~/Clients = client business. Kept separate so client work never tangles with internal experiments; registries and hooks point here.
~/Dev = git code repos. Kept out of the brain so Obsidian and memory sweeps do not index thousands of code files.
~/Documents/Claude/Projects = the Desktop app OWNS this tree and breaks if we move it. Locked rule from the Jul 8 audit.
So consolidation is done with VIEWS, not moves: ~/KAIRO/_MAP (everything in one Finder window), ~/Apps (all 6 built apps in one place via links), ~/KAIRO/_ARCHIVE (everything retired), the proj picker in the terminal, and this HQ page. One click into any tree, zero breakage, nothing lied to.
KASP refresher · the safety protocol
GREEN reads, searches, ls, cat: Claude just does these.