๐จ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐จ๐๐.๐บ๐ฑ? ๐คฏ
๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ looks for ๐๐๐๐จ๐๐.๐บ๐ฑ files in multiple locations and merges them together, with a clear hierarchy: ๐ง โก
๐ญ. ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐ CLAUDE.md
Enforce non-negotiables: banned libraries, security policies, data handling rules
Keep it lean; it loads for every session company-wide so noise costs everyone.
๐ฎ. ๐จ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ-๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md)
Personal workflow: preferred tools, editor conventions, tabs over spaces, how you like things explained.
Avoid project-specific content โ it'll bleed into unrelated projects.
๐ฏ. ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐ (./CLAUDE.md)
Lead with the essentials: how to build, test, and run the project.
Document non-obvious architectural decisions so Claude doesn't refactor them away.
List libraries and preferences between similar options (dayjs not moment)
Commit it โ it's documentation for teammates as much as for Claude.
๐ฐ. ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐๐๐จ๐๐.๐บ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐
Instructions valid only inside that folder, like frontend and backend project decisions, /mobile vs /api for example.
Great for monorepos where many folders have little in common.
Document "why" for weird local patterns, not just "what"
๐ฑ. ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ (@path/to/file.md)
Share a single source of truth across multiple CLAUDE.md files in a monorepo.
Scope each imported file to one topic so it's reusable without dragging in noise.
Avoid deep import chains โ they're hard to debug.
๐ฒ. ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น (./CLAUDE.local.md)
Gitignored personal overrides within a project โ add to .gitignore explicitly.
Local credentials, machine-specific paths, Work in progress notes you don't want to share.