Writing CLAUDE.md

Overview

Writing CLAUDE.md IS establishing project memory that persists across sessions.

CLAUDE.md is context, not enforced configuration. Claude treats it as high-priority guidance loaded every session. For deterministic enforcement, use hooks.

Core principle: Only include what Claude can't figure out from reading the code. Specific and verifiable > vague and aspirational.

Task Initialization (MANDATORY)

Follow task initialization protocol.

Tasks:
0. Fetch latest official memory/CLAUDE.md spec
1. Analyze current state
2. RED - test without proper CLAUDE.md
3. GREEN - write CLAUDE.md
4. Add project content
5. Validate structure
6. REFACTOR - quality review
7. Test with new session

Announce: "Created 8 tasks (0–7). Starting execution..."

Task 0: Fetch Latest Official Spec

Goal: Pull the current Anthropic CLAUDE.md / memory spec before designing — never trust cached memory.

Action:

Skill tool: fetching-claude-docs
  component: memory
  question: "CLAUDE.md location precedence (project/user/local), import syntax,
             auto-loading behavior, token cost, recommended structure"

Verification: Received YAML with source: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory.md and non-empty spec_excerpt. Use as authoritative reference; if any rule in this SKILL conflicts with the fetched spec, the fetched spec wins.

Task 1: Analyze Current State

Goal: Understand what exists and what's needed.

If CLAUDE.md exists:
1. Read current content
2. Check length (target: < 200 lines)
3. Identify vague or unverifiable instructions
4. Check if content belongs elsewhere (rules, skills, hooks)

If no CLAUDE.md: Document what Claude would need to know that it can't learn from reading the code.

Verification: Can list specific instructions needed and why each can't be derived from code.

Task 2: RED - Test Without Proper CLAUDE.md

Goal: Observe what Claude gets wrong without guidance.

Process:
1. Start session with weak/no CLAUDE.md
2. Ask Claude to perform common project tasks
3. Note where it uses wrong commands, wrong conventions, wrong paths
4. Document specific gaps (not vague "drift")

What to look for:
- Wrong build/test commands
- Incorrect assumptions about project structure
- Missing project-specific conventions
- Wrong language or communication style

Verification: Documented at least 2 specific things Claude got wrong.

Task 3: GREEN - Write CLAUDE.md

Goal: Create specific, verifiable instructions addressing the gaps you documented.

Before writing, walk through prompt-design-principles.md:

• 5-skeleton framework — CLAUDE.md typically needs Role (what Claude does in this project), Scope (what's in/out), and Standards (concrete rules). Workflow and Completion usually live in skills / rules, not CLAUDE.md.
• Failure-mode reverse engineering — every MUST / NEVER line should trace to an observed or predicted failure (documented in Task 2 RED), not an aspirational wish.
• Conditional dispatch — avoid absolute rules that don't hold across all task variants.

What to Include vs Exclude

Filter every line through this question first: "Can Claude derive this from reading the code, package.json, or running ls?" If yes, exclude — it's noise that pushes real signal out of attention budget.

The 2026 ETH Zürich study found that LLM-auto-generated CLAUDE.md files reduced task success by ~3% and increased cost ~20% precisely because they re-stated derivable content. The same study found that named tools/commands in CLAUDE.md are used ~160× more — confirming Claude reads it carefully, so every wasted line displaces a useful one.

Three-axis frame (WHAT / WHY / HOW):

• WHAT — non-obvious project identity Claude can't infer: monorepo layout, unusual subdirectory roles
• WHY — rationale for surprising choices: historical constraints, legal/compliance drivers, prior incidents
• HOW — non-default tooling and commands: bun not npm, uv not pip, custom build scripts, project-specific test filters

CLAUDE.md Structure

Sections: Code Style, Workflow, Architecture, Gotchas. See references/examples.md for complete example.

Writing Rules

Instructions MUST be SPECIFIC, VERIFIABLE, NON-OBVIOUS, and ACTIONABLE.

Use MUST/NEVER/IMPORTANT sparingly — if everything is critical, nothing is.

When to Use Other Mechanisms Instead

Conditional Dispatch (for instructions only relevant to specific tasks)

When a section only applies to certain task types (testing, deploying, migrating), wrap it in a conditional block instead of always-on prose. Claude reads the condition and skips the body when it doesn't apply, freeing attention budget for the rest of the file.

<important if="writing or modifying tests">
- Use `createTestApp()` helper for integration tests
- Mock the database with `dbMock` (NEVER hit real DB in unit tests)
</important>

<important if="deploying to production">
- Run `bun build` locally first; CI does not auto-build
- Tag the release before pushing to main
</important>

Use this for: test setup, deploy steps, migration procedures, environment-specific gotchas. Do not wrap core identity (tech stack, build command, project layout) — those need to stay always-on.

Nested CLAUDE.md (monorepos and multi-package repos)

Claude Code merges nested CLAUDE.md files: when working in apps/api/handlers/foo.ts, it loads root CLAUDE.md + apps/CLAUDE.md + apps/api/CLAUDE.md if they exist. Files above the working directory load in full at launch; files in subdirectories below it load on demand, when Claude first reads a file there. Nested files are also not re-injected after /compact — they reload the next time Claude touches that subdirectory. Use this for monorepos:

• Root CLAUDE.md: project identity, top-level layout, shared commands
• packages/<name>/CLAUDE.md: package-specific tooling, test command, gotchas
• apps/<name>/CLAUDE.md: app-specific build, deploy, runtime quirks

Reference: OpenAI's Codex repo uses 88 nested CLAUDE.md files. For a 5+ package monorepo, a single 500-line root file is worse than five 80-line nested files.

Hard Rules — Must Live in Hooks

CLAUDE.md text is advisory: empirical compliance is roughly 70%. For any rule where the 30% miss is unacceptable (force-pushing main, committing secrets, deleting prod data, bypassing pre-commit), encode it as a hook with exit 2 so Claude is mechanically blocked, not asked nicely.

CLAUDE.md may describe the rule for human readers, but the enforcement must be a hook. If you find yourself writing MUST NEVER about a destructive action without a backing hook, you're shipping a 30%-broken safety net.

Verification:
- [ ] < 200 lines (hard target; 60 lines optimal)
- [ ] Every instruction is specific and verifiable
- [ ] No content that belongs in rules, skills, or hooks
- [ ] No vague/obvious guidance ("write clean code")
- [ ] No content that restates README, package.json, or visible directory layout
- [ ] No big architecture overviews / directory listings (Claude can ls)
- [ ] Uses emphasis words (MUST, NEVER) sparingly but effectively
- [ ] Every MUST NEVER about a destructive/irreversible action has a backing hook
- [ ] Task-specific instructions wrapped in <important if="..."> conditional blocks where appropriate
- [ ] Monorepo: subdirectory-specific guidance moved to nested CLAUDE.md files, not crammed into root

Task 4: Add Project Content

Goal: Add project-specific information that helps agent work effectively. Use the section structure from references/examples.md as a starting point.

Token efficiency:
- CLAUDE.md loads every session — every line costs tokens
- Move domain knowledge to skills (loaded on-demand)
- Move file-scoped conventions into .claude/rules/<name>.md with paths: — these load only when Claude touches a matching file, so they leave the always-resident budget entirely
- A rule without paths: still loads at launch; it buys readability, not tokens
- Link to detailed docs instead of inlining them (@path imports load at launch too, so they don't save context either)

Verification: Total < 200 lines. Every line earns its place.

Task 5: Validate Structure

Goal: Verify CLAUDE.md is effective and efficient.

Checklist:
- [ ] < 200 lines total
- [ ] Every instruction is specific and verifiable
- [ ] No content duplicated in .claude/rules/ (rules are auto-loaded into context — do NOT Read or Grep rule files; compare against auto-loaded rule content already in context)
- [ ] No multi-step workflows (belongs in skills)
- [ ] No linter-enforceable rules (use hooks instead)
- [ ] Referenced paths actually exist
- [ ] Commands actually work

Verification: All checklist items pass.

Task 6: REFACTOR - Quality Review

Goal: Have CLAUDE.md reviewed by claudemd-reviewer subagent.

Agent tool:
- subagent_type: "rcc:claudemd-reviewer"
- prompt: "Review CLAUDE.md at [path]"

Interpret YAML output:
- pass: true → Proceed to Task 7
- pass: false → Fix all issues listed, re-run reviewer, repeat until pass: true

Verification: claudemd-reviewer returns YAML with pass: true.

Task 7: Test with New Session

Goal: Verify CLAUDE.md works in practice.

Process:
1. Start new Claude Code session in project
2. Ask Claude to perform common tasks
3. Verify it uses correct commands, follows conventions
4. Check it doesn't do things the CLAUDE.md says not to
5. If Claude asks questions answered in CLAUDE.md → phrasing is ambiguous, fix it

Signs of a good CLAUDE.md:
- Claude uses the right build/test commands without asking
- Claude follows project conventions automatically
- Claude doesn't need correction on documented gotchas

Signs of a bad CLAUDE.md:
- Claude ignores instructions → file too long, instruction lost in noise
- Claude asks questions answered in CLAUDE.md → phrasing is ambiguous
- Claude follows CLAUDE.md but breaks things → instructions are wrong/outdated

Verification: Claude follows documented conventions correctly over 5+ turns.

Red Flags - STOP

These thoughts mean you're rationalizing. STOP and reconsider:

• "Skip baseline test, I know what's needed"
• "Instructions can be general guidance"
• "Put all project details in CLAUDE.md"
• "200 lines is too restrictive"
• "Skip reviewer, it's obviously good"
• "Add instructions for things a linter can check"
• "Include standard language conventions"
• "Restate the README so Claude has the context handy" (it doesn't help — see ETH 2026 study, ~3% drop in success rate)
• "A big architecture overview helps Claude find files faster" (false — measured zero improvement on time-to-first-relevant-file)
• "Writing 'NEVER force-push' here will stop it" (no — that's ~70% compliance; needs a hook)
• "Cram every monorepo package's quirks into root CLAUDE.md" (use nested CLAUDE.md per package)
• "Always-on prose for test setup is fine" (use <important if="writing tests"> instead)

All of these mean: You're about to create a bloated, ineffective CLAUDE.md.

Common Rationalizations

References

• references/examples.md — Complete CLAUDE.md example and good/bad instructions
• ../../references/prompt-design-principles.md — 5-skeleton framework, failure-mode reverse engineering, conditional dispatch, completion semantics
• Scaffold script: ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/init_claude_md.py — generates initial CLAUDE.md from project structure