A field guide and starter kit

CLAUDE.md is not a config file.

It's the editorial layer of a layered context system. Most people are using maybe 10% of what it can do. This kit closes that gap.

# What you get

home/                              → ~/.claude/
+-- CLAUDE.md                      Lean global identity
+-- templates/
|   +-- cloudflare-worker.md
|   +-- python-package.md
|   +-- node-typescript.md
|   +-- fastapi.md
|   +-- react-frontend.md
|   +-- monorepo.md
+-- commands/
|   +-- standup.md
|   +-- postmortem.md
|   +-- explain.md
+-- agents/
|   +-- code-reviewer.md
|   +-- test-writer.md
+-- hooks/
    +-- pre-tool-use.md            example config

project/                           → <repo>/
+-- CLAUDE.md                      uses @imports
+-- CLAUDE.local.md                gitignored scratchpad
+-- frontend/CLAUDE.md           path-scoped
+-- .claude/
    +-- settings.json              allow/deny lists
    +-- rules/
    |   +-- database.md
    |   +-- api-design.md
    |   +-- secrets.md
    +-- skills/
        +-- security-review/SKILL.md
        +-- dependency-audit/SKILL.md

install.sh, install.ps1            one-command install

The four layers

CLAUDE.md is loaded from four scopes, most-general to most-specific. The kit gives you a working starting point in each.

# Loaded in order; most specific wins

~/.claude/CLAUDE.md          "You"   - style, defaults, every project
<repo>/CLAUDE.md             "Team"  - committed, shared with collaborators
<repo>/CLAUDE.local.md       "Local" - gitignored, just this checkout
<repo>/subdir/CLAUDE.md      "Path"  - loads only when working in subdir/

Layer 1 is your personal style. Layer 2 is the codebase's constitution. Layer 3 is your scratchpad. Layer 4 keeps frontend rules out of backend sessions and vice versa. Conflate any two and you'll feel friction.

Why this exists

If you run more than one project, you're already retyping the same conventions into every new Claude Code session. Cache-bump rules. Deploy patterns. "Never use CMD for git commits." "Never --branch=production." That's friction you don't have to carry.

This kit is the composition pattern in working form: a small library of fragments at ~/.claude/templates/, and project files that @import what they need. Edit the fragments once; every project inherits the improvement.

Get the kit.

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Read the full article: CLAUDE.md Is Not a Config File →