8. The CLAUDE.md File

Notes

The CLAUDE.md File Think of CLAUDE.md as an onboarding doc for every new session. The contents of the CLAUDE.md file are automatically added to every Claude Code session.

The Problem It Solves Without a CLAUDE.md, every new session starts fresh — Claude Code re-discovers your patterns and standards from scratch. A CLAUDE.md file solves this by documenting your project's conventions, dependencies, and code standards so Claude references them automatically every time.

An Example Structure

# Project
This is a [description] using [tech stack].

# Commands
[relevant project commands]

# Project-level expected outputs
[what good outputs look like]

CLAUDE.md is for Teams Commit your CLAUDE.md so your whole team controls your Claude Code conventions. Hierarchy:

Project-level — lives in the root of your directory; best for project-specific context
User-level — lives in your home directory (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md); best for personal configuration preferences across all projects

Tips

Start without one — let Claude generate it using /init
CLAUDE.md is only as useful as it is accurate — if it's wrong, you'll get wrong results
Reference project docs using the @ symbol with the file path

Recap: The difference between a frustrating Claude Code session and a productive one often comes down to CLAUDE.md — it's how you tell Claude the rules of the game before starting.

The CLAUDE.md file

8. The CLAUDE.md File

Notes