CLAUDE.md examples from real projects

How real projects brief Claude Code: the commands, conventions and warnings they put in CLAUDE.md.

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Jeffallan

JeffallanCLAUDE.md

claude-skills

Jeffallan/claude-skills/CLAUDE.md

This file governs Claude's behavior when working on the claude-skills repository. Skills follow the Agent Skills specification. This section covers project-specific conventions that go beyond the base spec. Critical: Never put process steps or workflow sequences in descriptions. When descriptions contain step-by-step instructions, agents follow the brief description instead of reading the full skill content. This defeats the purpose of detailed skills. Brief capability statements (what it does) and trigger conditions (when to use it) are both appropriate. Process steps…

12k10mo agoReviewMount

CLAUDE.md vs AGENTS.md

About CLAUDE.md

What is CLAUDE.md?

A file Claude Code reads at the start of every session. It holds the commands, conventions and warnings the agent needs for this project.

Where does it go?

At the repository root. Claude Code also reads CLAUDE.md files in subdirectories when it works there.

What should it contain?

Build and test commands, the project's layout, conventions that aren't obvious from the code, and mistakes to avoid. Short files tend to work better than long ones.

CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md?

Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md; most other agents read AGENTS.md. Many projects keep one and point the other at it.