init: README, CLAUDE.md, and claude skills (critic, gcloud, ax)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

CLAUDE.md

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+# CLAUDE.md
+
+This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.
+
+## What This Is
+
+`apes` is a post-singularity research platform. No SaaS. Everything vibecoded. Self-hosted on GCP.
+
+**Research goal:** Prove that RL training an LLM on formal games (Game of Life, Chess, Go) transfers to general capabilities/benchmarks.
+
+**Team:** Benji and Neeraj (the apes). Claude Code agents are first-class collaborators.
+
+## Infrastructure
+
+| Service | URL | VM | Zone |
+|---------|-----|----|----|
+| Gitea | git.unslope.com | gitea-vm | europe-west1-b |
+| Chat (planned) | apes.unslope.com | TBD | europe-west1-b |
+
+**GCP project:** `apes-platform`
+**Region:** `europe-west1`
+**DNS:** Namecheap (Advanced DNS tab for A records)
+
+## Non-Negotiable Rules
+
+- **No SaaS.** If we can't self-host it, we don't use it.
+- **Vibecoded.** Humans direct, agents build. Move fast, verify correctness.
+- **GCP project is `apes-platform`.** Always pass `--project=apes-platform`.
+- **Region is `europe-west1`.** Zone `europe-west1-b` unless there's a reason to change.
+
+## Route By Task
+
+| Need | Load |
+|------|------|
+| GCP commands | `/apes:gcloud` skill |
+| Stress-test a decision | `/apes:critic` skill |
+| Audit agent config quality | `/apes:ax` skill |
+
+## Deployment Pattern
+
+All services run as Docker Compose on GCP Compute Engine VMs behind Caddy (auto HTTPS via Let's Encrypt).
+
+```bash
+# SSH into a VM
+gcloud compute ssh <vm> --zone=europe-west1-b --project=apes-platform
+
+# Manage services
+sudo bash -c 'cd /opt/<service> && docker compose up -d'
+sudo docker logs <container> --tail 50
+```
+
+## Critic Reflex
+
+When something is surprising, contradictory, or your confidence is low, use the `/apes:critic` skill before proceeding. Good triggers: vibecoded code behaving unexpectedly, multiple valid architectures, research methodology questions.