Deliverables/ — Project Folder Convention v2

What it is

Deliverables/ is the project's output library. If Reference/ answers "what are we working FROM?", Deliverables/ answers "what did we GIVE the client?"

Lives here: cycle creatives we shipped, performance reports we built and sent, signed Statements of Service, traditional-media creative shipped to vendors, historical deliverables retained for cross-cycle reference.

Does NOT live here: source files used to BUILD deliverables (those go to Reference/creative-sources/{medium}/), incoming files awaiting routing (Inbox/), auto-monitor output (Logs/), wrong-version drafts (_junk/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{reason}/).

Subfolder structure

Four standard zones. All lazy — created when content arrives.

{cycle-slug}/

Current cycle bundle. The active campaign's shipped deliverables organized by type.

Subfolders: assets/, creatives/, exports/

Reports/

Performance reports by period. One self-contained bundle per report.

Subfolders: {YYYY-MM-DD}-{period-slug}/ (weekly, monthly, cycle reports)

_archive/

Retained historical deliverables we still reference. NOT the same as _junk/ — see distinction below.

Sub-bundles: media-plans/, traditional-media-print-{vendor}/ + standalone retained files

(root singletons)

One-off date-prefixed deliverables that don't fit cycle bundles or reports. Apply the 3-item rule.

Naming: YYYY-MM-DD-{client}-{descriptor}.{ext}

`_archive/` vs `_junk/` — the critical distinction

Both look like "old stuff" but they serve opposite purposes. Getting this wrong means either losing client audit trail (treating archive material like junk) or cluttering the active reference space (treating junk like archive).

	Deliverables/_archive/	_junk/ (project root)
What it holds	Historical SHIPPED deliverables	Wrong versions, never-shipped drafts, retired files
Why kept	Client audit, cross-cycle reference, account continuity	Provenance + undo safety only
Lookup expectation	Will be referenced again (likely)	Will not be referenced (probably)
Subdivision	By deliverable category (`media-plans/`, `traditional-media-print-{vendor}/`)	By date + reason (`{YYYY-MM-DD}-{reason}/`)
Example	Signed Aug 2024 media plan	Pre-canonical context files replaced by skill

The rule: if it was shipped to the client and might be referenced again → _archive/. If it's a wrong version or never went out → _junk/.

How files get here

Deliverables/ has a different intake pattern than Reference/. Most files arrive via skill-write, not human drop.

✓ Default · Skill-write

/build-report
/build-cycle-bundle

▼

Skill writes
directly

▼

Reports/{period}/
or {cycle-slug}/

✓ Manual · Inbox-first

Drop in Inbox/

▼

/inbox-process
(nightly)

▼

Deliverables/ root
or subfolder

Skill-write (default for skill-generated outputs). Skills know the canonical destination and naming. They write directly without an Inbox/ stop. Currently shipped: /build-report. Planned: /build-cycle-bundle(in progress), /render-preview-board(in progress).

Manual route (for human-built deliverables). Custom comparisons, ad-hoc decks, platform exports — drop in Inbox/. /inbox-process(in progress) recognizes date-prefixed deliverable filenames and routes to Deliverables/.

Fast path. If you know exactly where it belongs — cycle creatives to {cycle-slug}/creatives/, signed PDFs to _archive/media-plans/ — direct drop is fine. /folder-audit(in progress) won't flag direct drops that land in canonical destinations.

Archive-promotion (deliberate move). Moving from {cycle-slug}/ → _archive/ is an intentional "this is done but reference-worthy" decision. Happens at cycle rollover, post-client-acceptance, or end-of-vendor-relationship. No skill automates this yet.

The 3-item rule

When does a one-off deliverable at Deliverables/ root get promoted to a subfolder?

Same-type one-offs at root	Where they live
1–2 files	Keep at `Deliverables/` root with date-prefix naming
3+ files	Promote to a subfolder (`comparisons/`, `decks/`, `briefs/`, etc.)

Asset routing — quick reference

Asset type	Destination
Final-cut cycle creatives (mp4, png, jpg)	`Deliverables/{cycle-slug}/creatives/`
Cycle build artifacts (zips, exports)	`Deliverables/{cycle-slug}/exports/`
Cycle assets handed to client	`Deliverables/{cycle-slug}/assets/`
Performance report (weekly/monthly/cycle)	`Deliverables/Reports/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{period}/`
Signed Statement of Services PDF	`Deliverables/_archive/media-plans/`
Retired/superseded media plan	`Deliverables/_archive/media-plans/`
Traditional-media print creative (shipped)	`Deliverables/_archive/traditional-media-print-{vendor}/`
One-off client deck / brief / comparison	`Deliverables/` root with date prefix (3+ → promote)
Wrong version of any deliverable	`_junk/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{reason}/` (NOT _archive)

Anti-patterns

What /folder-audit will flag in Deliverables/:

/folder-audit will flag these

Source files in Deliverables/ (PSDs, AI files, Figma exports belong in Reference/creative-sources/{medium}/)
Reports at Deliverables/ root (must be in Reports/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{period}/)
Loose dated files at Deliverables/ root when 3+ same-type exist (must promote to a subfolder)
Wrong-version files in _archive/ (those belong in _junk/, not _archive/)
Cycle-slug folders without subfolders when there's a mix of file types (separate into {cycle-slug}/{assets,creatives,exports}/)
Missing date prefix on root one-offs (every root deliverable must start YYYY-MM-DD-)
Direct drops outside canonical destinations (flagged post-/inbox-process rollout)

Pier West — the worked example

The live Deliverables/ folder for Rennie/Pier West, as of 2026-05-24. Shows the full pattern: current cycle bundle, three completed report periods, archived media plans and traditional-media creative across two years, plus one root singleton.

View the full real Deliverables/ folder Pier West · 2026-05-24 · live tree

Deliverables/
├── 2026-01-q1-rotation/                                  ← Current cycle bundle
│   └── creatives/
│       ├── lead-en-video-professional-theme2-square.mp4
│       ├── lead-en-video-professional-theme2-vertical.mp4
│       ├── lead-en-video-ugc-theme2-square.mp4
│       └── lead-en-video-ugc-theme2-vertical.mp4
│
├── Reports/                                              ← 3 reports across 2026-01 → 2026-05
│   ├── 2026-01-lny-jan20-mar3/                          ← Lunar New Year campaign cycle
│   │   ├── index.html
│   │   ├── report-data.json
│   │   └── assets/
│   ├── 2026-05-04-weekly/                               ← Weekly performance reports
│   └── 2026-05-11-weekly/
│
├── _archive/                                             ← Historical shipped deliverables (retained for reference)
│   ├── media-plans/                                      ← 5 signed media plans, 2024-10 → 2025-05
│   │   ├── 2024-10-pier-west-setup-initiation.pdf
│   │   ├── 2024-11-pier-west-nov-dec-2024.pdf
│   │   ├── 2024-12-pier-west-dec-2024-feb-2025.pdf
│   │   ├── 2025-03-pier-west-mar-apr-2025.pdf
│   │   └── 2025-05-pier-west-may-jul-2025.pdf
│   ├── traditional-media-print-ming-pao/                 ← 6 newspaper print creatives shipped 2025
│   │   ├── 2025-01-30-property-gold-pages-rop.png
│   │   ├── 2025-01-31-real-estate-outlook-rop.png
│   │   ├── 2025-04-10-property-gold-pages-cover.png
│   │   ├── 2025-04-13-new-home-guide-rop.png
│   │   ├── 2025-04-19-daily-b-front-cover-free-upgrade-to-aa-front.jpg
│   │   └── 2025-04-20-sunday-magazine.jpg
│   ├── 2025-04-21-pier-west-32733-signed.pdf             ← Standalone signed deliverable
│   └── pierwest-framecast-640x1920-sep2025.jpg           ← Standalone retained OOH creative
│
└── 2026-02-pier-west-campaign-comparison.xlsx            ← Root singleton (one-off comparison)

Note on the root singleton: 2026-02-pier-west-campaign-comparison.xlsx is a one-off comparison sent to the client. Under the 3-item rule, this is fine as a standalone. If two more comparisons land at root, all three get promoted to comparisons/. /folder-audit would flag if it lacked the date prefix or if 3+ same-type files clustered without subfolder promotion.

Change Log

Date	Change
2026-05-24	Initial chapter created. Pier West established as canonical reference implementation. `_archive/` vs `_junk/` distinction codified. Skill-write exemption from Inbox-first documented.