RCP-CWK-012 Cowork-Aware COM Extension

Extends the CRAFT Operations Manager in Claude Cowork and runs automatically

Extends the CRAFT Operations Manager (Core COM) with Cowork-specific monitoring: file system awareness, git state tracking, enhanced token threshold actions, monorepo push safety, branding detection, file size watchlists, and a post-response priority tracker footer. Runs as a persistent overlay throughout the entire session.

Cowork-Aware COM Extension

Cowork | Bridge & Integration | Difficulty: Intermediate | Time: Persistent
Tags: Introduced in Beta, COM, Operations, Monitoring, Git, Token, Footer, Persistent, Cowork

TL;DR

What It Does
Extends the CRAFT Operations Manager (Core COM) with Cowork-specific monitoring: file system awareness, git state tracking, enhanced token threshold actions, monorepo push safety, branding detection, file size watchlists, and a post-response priority tracker footer. Runs as a persistent overlay throughout the entire session.
How It Works
Activated once during session initialization (CWK-001 Step 7), the extension registers event-driven monitors that fire at specific trigger points — not continuously. Token monitors auto-checkpoint at 70%, suggest handoff at 85%, and emergency-save at 90%. Git monitors track uncommitted changes and remote drift. File monitors detect untracked CRAFT files, stale CLAUDE.md, roadmap staleness, and file size threshold crossings. The priority tracker appends a compact footer after every substantive response, with optional subproject status block.
What To Expect
Background monitoring with minimal token cost. You see COM reports only when triggers fire — uncommitted file warnings, token threshold actions, stale CLAUDE.md notices, and the persistent priority footer after each response. All monitors can be individually disabled via parameters.
Best Results When You
Leave all monitors enabled (the defaults). The extension is designed for passive monitoring — it fires only when something needs attention. Disable individual monitors only if they produce noise for your specific workflow (e.g., git_monitoring=false for a project without version control).
Typical Time
Persistent — activates once during session init, runs throughout the session. No ongoing user interaction required.
Difficulty
Intermediate — the extension is mostly automatic, but understanding what each monitor does helps you respond to COM alerts effectively. The priority tracker footer configuration and subproject block require familiarity with CRAFT project structure.

How To Start

This recipe activates automatically during session initialization. You can customize which monitors are active via parameters.

STEP 1Configure Monitors (Optional)

The extension activates with sensible defaults during CWK-001 Step 7. Override parameters only if you need to disable specific monitoring dimensions.
Available parameters
  • monitoring_level · string · optional · default: “standard”
    Controls reporting verbosity. “standard” reports triggers when they fire. “verbose” includes environmental state in each report. “minimal” fires triggers silently, reports only actions taken.
  • git_monitoring · boolean · optional · default: true
    Enable git state monitoring. When true, COM tracks uncommitted changes, branch drift from remote, and time since last commit.
  • file_monitoring · boolean · optional · default: true
    Enable file system monitoring. When true, COM checks for modified files without git protection, stale CLAUDE.md, roadmap staleness, file size thresholds, and untracked CRAFT files.
  • auto_actions · boolean · optional · default: true
    Allow COM to auto-execute protective actions (checkpoint, git commit suggestions). When false, COM only suggests actions without executing.
Invocations
Standard (all defaults)
#H->AI::Directive: (Activate Cowork COM Extension)
Verbose mode
#H->AI::Directive: (Activate Cowork COM Extension with monitoring_level=verbose)
Minimal (suggestions only)
#H->AI::Directive: (Activate Cowork COM Extension with auto_actions=false, monitoring_level=minimal)

STEP 2Monitor Activation Confirms

After activation, COM reports which monitors are active and their initial state (git clean/dirty, CLAUDE.md sync status, file size watchlist summary). The extension then runs silently until triggers fire.

STEP 3Respond to COM Alerts

When a monitor fires, COM reports the trigger and its recommended action. Some actions auto-execute (70% token checkpoint); others are suggestions you can accept or dismiss (85% handoff suggestion, git commit recommendations).

Usage Examples

Two scenarios — standard session with token threshold firing, and a session with file monitoring alerts.
Example 1 · Token threshold auto-checkpoint
User: [Working normally, conversation reaches ~70% token usage]
AI (COM): Token WARNING — auto-checkpoint fired. Partial handoff and git commit saved.
User: [Continues working; conversation reaches ~85%]
AI (COM): Token CRITICAL — recommend executing RCP-CWK-002 (Direct Handoff) to preserve session intelligence before context compaction.
Example 2 · File monitoring alerts at session start
User: [Starts new session via CWK-001]
AI (COM): Cowork COM Extension active. Monitors: token=on, git=on, files=on. Git state: 7 commits ahead of origin. CLAUDE.md last synced 3 sessions ago — consider RCP-CWK-007. File sizes: 1 CRITICAL (chat history 512 KB), 2 WARNING.

How AI Reads This Recipe

When this recipe is activated, the AI registers persistent monitors that fire at defined trigger points throughout the session. The AI should:
  1. REGISTER all enabled monitors during CWK-001 Step 7 activation. Report which monitors are active and their initial state.
  2. FIRE monitors at the correct trigger points: session_init for initial state checks; after_file_modification for git and file size monitors; after_file_creation for untracked file detection; before_git_push for monorepo safety; post_response for the priority tracker footer.
  3. EXECUTE auto-actions when enabled: 70% token auto-checkpoint (single-fire), emergency save at 90% (single-fire). Suggest but do not auto-execute: 85% handoff, git commits, CLAUDE.md re-sync.
  4. RENDER the priority tracker footer after every substantive response. If an active subproject exists, prepend the subproject block (hard-capped at 8 lines). Wrap the entire footer in a triple-backtick fenced code block for correct markdown rendering.
  5. ROUTE recipe suggestions through the Cowork routing table: if Core COM would suggest a Core recipe, check for a Cowork equivalent and suggest that instead.
The extension is passive and event-driven — it should NOT poll or consume tokens continuously. Monitor checks are lightweight conditional evaluations, not API calls. Token cost is minimal. User can disable any monitor via parameters at any time.

When to Use This Recipe

Use this recipe when you:
  • Want automated session monitoring for token usage, git state, and file health.
  • Need the post-response priority tracker footer with subproject awareness.
  • Are working in a project with git version control and want uncommitted-change tracking.
  • Want monorepo push safety enforcement via CWK-038 pre-push gate.
  • Need file size threshold monitoring for growing project files.
Do not use this recipe when:
You are running a quick, one-off task that does not warrant session monitoring. The extension adds activation overhead (~100 tokens) and fires monitors throughout the session. For short conversations where you ask one question and leave, the overhead is not justified. However, for any session using CWK-001 initialization, this extension activates by default and should be left running.

Recipe FAQ

Q.Does this replace Core COM?

No. This extension overlays Core COM, adding Cowork-specific monitors that Core COM cannot provide (file system access, git state, monorepo awareness). Core COM continues to handle token estimation, recipe suggestions, and session management. The extension extends, not replaces.

Q.How much token budget does this use?

Minimal. Monitors are conditional checks that fire only at defined trigger points, not continuous polling. Git status checks are approximately 50 tokens each. The priority tracker footer adds a small fixed cost per substantive response. Total overhead is typically under 2% of session budget.

Q.Can I disable individual monitors?

Yes. Set git_monitoring=false to disable git state tracking, file_monitoring=false to disable file system monitoring, or auto_actions=false to make all actions suggestion-only. The monitoring_level parameter controls reporting verbosity.

Q.What is the priority tracker footer?

After every substantive response, COM appends a compact footer showing your top 3–5 active priorities with matched recipe IDs. If an active subproject exists, a subproject status block appears above the priorities. The entire footer is wrapped in a fenced code block for consistent rendering.

Q.What triggers the monorepo push detection?

Any git push command targeting a remote URL that matches the shared monorepo (contains “craft-framework” but is not the project’s own repo). The push is blocked until CWK-038 (Pre-Push Gate) is executed and passes.

Q.Why does the footer use a fenced code block?

Plain markdown rendering collapses single newlines, flowing the multi-line footer into an unreadable paragraph. The triple-backtick fence preserves line breaks and gives the intended monospace panel appearance.

Version History

Changes to this recipe over time. Most recent first.
v1.06a 2026-03-20
Subproject footer renderer: prepend CURRENT SUBPROJECT block when active subproject present. Fresh STATE.txt read per render. 8-line hard cap. Mandatory triple-backtick fence for all footer rendering. Monorepo push detection monitor with CWK-038 gate integration. Branding empty detection with contextual suggestion timing. File size watchlist with manifest integration. Roadmap staleness monitor.
v1.00a 2026-02-28
Initial release. Token threshold auto-actions (70% checkpoint, 85% suggest handoff, 90% emergency save). Git state tracking (uncommitted changes, remote drift). File monitoring (untracked CRAFT files, CLAUDE.md staleness). Cowork recipe routing table. Post-response priority tracker footer.

Get this recipe with CRAFT for Claude Cowork

Cowork recipes ship bundled with CRAFT for Claude Cowork — there’s no separate download. Clone the framework once, and your AI runs every recipe automatically when invoked.

Pull anytime to stay on the latest version — free to clone, no login or email required.

Then start your session

Once CRAFT is in your project folder, open a new Cowork session and ask Claude to initialize. For example:

You

Please initialize my CRAFT session.

Claude

CRAFT session ready. Your project is loaded, your persona is active, and your recipes are available. What would you like to work on?

What is CRAFT for Claude Cowork?

Not familiar with Git? Download as a ZIP

No command line needed. Just download, move, and unzip:

  1. Open the CRAFT framework repo on GitHub.
  2. Click the green Code button, then choose Download ZIP.
  3. Move the downloaded ZIP into your Claude Cowork project folder.
  4. Unzip it: double-click on Mac, or right-click → Extract All on Windows.

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