CLAUDE.md: memory for your project
Claude Code reads one file at the start of every session. Write it well and you never have to explain things twice.
When Claude Code starts, it reads the CLAUDE.md file in your project folder. Whatever is in it, Claude knows from the first message: how to run the project, where things live and what to watch out for.
How to create it
The fastest way is to start Claude Code in your project and type /init. Claude goes through the project and drafts a first version. Then shorten it. The first draft is usually too long.
What belongs in it
- Commands to run and test the project.
- How the project is organised and where things are.
- Rules that you cannot read from the code. For example “all copy is written in Slovak” or “never edit the dist folder”.
- Things it has already got wrong once.
What does not
- Anything Claude can work out from the code in a few seconds.
- Long manuals. It reads the whole file every session, so every line costs you something.
Where it can live
| File | Applies to |
|---|---|
CLAUDE.md in the project folder |
this project, you can commit it to git |
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md |
all your projects |
The /memory command opens them for editing right inside Claude Code.
There is a ready-made CLAUDE.md template in the Files section. Copy it and rewrite a few lines.