diff --git a/.claude/memory/MEMORY.md b/.claude/memory/MEMORY.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c30b36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.claude/memory/MEMORY.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Project Memory
+
+Index of persistent memory for the agent-team project.
+
+- [TODO: inter-agent JSON schema](todo_inter_agent_schema.md) — formal typed schema for all inter-agent messages to replace freetext signals
diff --git a/.claude/memory/todo_inter_agent_schema.md b/.claude/memory/todo_inter_agent_schema.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3ddd8f6
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@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+name: TODO — formal JSON schema for inter-agent communication
+description: Planned work to replace informal signal/text conventions with a typed JSON schema for all inter-agent messages
+type: project
+---
+
+Define a formal JSON schema for all inter-agent communication in the agent team.
+
+**Why:** Current protocol relies on freetext signals (RFR, LGTM, REVISE, VERDICT: PASS, etc.) and unstructured prose output. A typed schema would make messages machine-readable, easier to validate, and more reliable for orchestrator parsing — especially as parallelism increases and the orchestrator is managing multiple concurrent agent outputs.
+
+**How to apply:** Design the schema before any further changes to the orchestrate skill or agent protocols. All agent output formats (reviewer verdict, auditor verdict, worker RFR, architect triage response, etc.) should conform to it. Consider whether the schema lives as a skill, a standalone JSON Schema file, or embedded in agent frontmatter.
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
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--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@
 - The CLAUDE.md hierarchy is the only source of persistent context
 - If something needs to carry forward across sessions, it belongs in a CLAUDE.md file, not in session memory
 
+## Project Memory
+- Project-specific memory lives in `.claude/memory/` at the project root
+- Use `MEMORY.md` in that directory as the index (one line per entry pointing to a file)
+- Memory files use frontmatter: `name`, `description`, `type` (user/feedback/project/reference)
+- Commit `.claude/memory/` with the repo so memory persists across machines and sessions
+
 
 ## Commits & Git Workflow
 - Make many small, tightly scoped commits — one logical change per commit