Writing a CLAUDE.md That Claude Actually Follows — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:02The Claude MD file is not an enforced
2. 0:03configuration, meaning if you keep
3. 0:05adding to one gigantic file, the less
4. 0:07Claude is able to follow it correctly.
5. 0:09Here's how you can keep your Claude MD
6. 0:10file tight and to follow your
7. 0:12instructions much more reliably.
8. 0:16Simply put, the longer the file gets,
9. 0:18the more it has to compete with itself.
10. 0:20First, is Claude MD even the right tool
11. 0:22for the job? A hard rule like never push
12. 0:24to main belongs in a pre-tool use hook
13. 0:27instead. The hook is designed to stop
14. 0:28the push even when Claude does try to do
15. 0:30it.
16. 0:32The Claude MD file doesn't just exist in
17. 0:34your project file. There's three other
18. 0:36places. One's your managed policy, then
19. 0:38your user file, then your project file,
20. 0:40and finally local. Claude loads every
21. 0:42memory file together. Nothing gets
22. 0:44dropped and or policy is always in play.
23. 0:46Local is for what's just yours in this
24. 0:48project. Say you're refactoring off this
25. 0:51sprint and want Claude to hold your
26. 0:52architectural decisions in mind. Well,
27. 0:54that goes in local, not the shared
28. 0:56project file.
29. 0:58To make your Claude.md files easier to
30. 1:00maintain, use the path to file syntax to
31. 1:03split up your instructions. Just know
32. 1:05what they buy you though. Claude expands
33. 1:07imported files in line at launch right
34. 1:09alongside the file that references them.
35. 1:11Imports help you organize a large
36. 1:12Claude.md file, but everything still
37. 1:14loads up front and they don't reduce
38. 1:16context.
39. 1:18So, we can make our Claude.md file much
40. 1:20shorter. Whether Claude obeys it comes
41. 1:23down to phrasing and most rules fail
42. 1:24because they're pretty vague. First, be
43. 1:27specific and checkable. Don't put things
44. 1:28like follow best practices. Do you even
45. 1:31know what that means? Well, don't expect
46. 1:33Claude to magically. Put new API routes
47. 1:35in source API handlers, one per file.
48. 1:38Well, that's explicit. So, put that
49. 1:40instead. Name the replacement. Don't use
50. 1:42default exports leaves the alternative
51. 1:44open. Use named exports, not default
52. 1:47exports closes that potential
53. 1:48misinterpretation.
54. 1:50And then realize that emphasis is a
55. 1:52budget. Important and you must raises a
56. 1:54rule priority, but only relative to
57. 1:57everything quieter around it. Spend them
58. 1:59on the two or three rules that hurt when
59. 2:01broken. The file also stays under
60. 2:03revision. When Claude does the wrong
61. 2:05thing, we'll treat that as a bug report
62. 2:07against your claw.md file. Tell it add
63. 2:10that to the claw.md file and it'll write
64. 2:12that rule for you.
65. 2:17Treat your claw.md file like production
66. 2:19code. If you can't justify a line, well,
67. 2:22delete it. Move enforcement to hooks,
68. 2:24organize with imports, and scope path
69. 2:26specific conventions into your rules so
70. 2:28that they load only when they apply. The
71. 2:31leaner the file, the more of it Claude
72. 2:33follows.