diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 43995bd..76535d3 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -64,3 +64,6 @@ target/
 
 #Ipython Notebook
 .ipynb_checkpoints
+
+# private Claude context
+CLAUDE.local.md
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 9bb4530..7f0f74d 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.
 
+## Status (July 2026)
+
+Actively maintained: auto-regen CI, OIDC PyPI publishing, consumed by `django-actinia`. One caveat: `UPSTREAM.md` tracks the upstream actinia-core version and says it is updated automatically by the `release-on-actinia` workflow, but its version cell still reads "(not yet regenerated by automation)", so the automated regeneration has not yet run end-to-end; verify before relying on it.
+
 ## What this repository is
 
 A Python client SDK for the **actinia** REST API (the GRASS REST API for scalable, distributed geospatial processing). The package name is `actinia_openapi_python_client`.