Definition

Context Stack

The context stack is the onboarding material that makes a coding agent expert at your codebase. It has three layers: project-level instruction files such as CLAUDE.md or .cursorrules that state conventions; skills files the agent writes after studying your code, documenting patterns and architecture; and MCP servers that connect it to your database, error logs, git history, and tickets. Better context beats better prompts.

Context Stack diagram from Intelligence at Scale
Diagram from chapter 15, The AI Coding Revolution

Explained in

Chapter 15: The AI Coding Revolution

Coding AI isn't just another vertical. It's changing how all software gets built. Including the software that builds AI.

Related terms

This is one term. The chapter is the argument.

Intelligence at Scale: 22 chapters, 65,000 words, 80-plus diagrams. Kindle, paperback and hardcover on Amazon.

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