module 02 project memory

Your global CLAUDE.md

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Full Lesson Reference

Your global CLAUDE.md lives at ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md and loads on every Claude Code session forever. 5 things go in it. Nothing else.

You don't write it by hand. You start Claude Code, tell it what you want, and review what it drafts. This is the pattern for every setup step in this course.

The 5 things that belong in a global CLAUDE.md

  1. Who you are - your name, role, company, whether you're a marketer or developer or founder. Claude calibrates its responses differently for each.
  2. Your locale - Australian English, DD/MM dates, AUD currency. Without this, you'll get US English and MM/DD dates by default.
  3. How you work - terse or detailed, ask before acting or bias toward action, what tools you prefer. The communication preferences that save you correcting Claude every session.
  4. Git conventions - commit message format, branch naming, your GitHub identity (if it differs from the computer's default).
  5. Safety rails - never fabricate metrics, never commit credentials, ask before destructive operations. Use CAPS for the non-negotiables.

That's it. 5 sections, 15-25 lines total. Anything beyond that is usually project-specific content in the wrong place.

Step 1: Start Claude Code

Open a terminal (doesn't matter which folder) and type

terminal
claude

Step 2: Tell Claude to draft your CLAUDE.md

Paste this instruction in plain English

Draft my global CLAUDE.md at ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md. Ask me 5-10 questions to understand who I am, my role, how I work, my git conventions, and my safety rules. Then write a lean version under 25 lines.

Claude will ask you questions one at a time

  • What's your name and role?
  • What company are you at?
  • Australian English or US English?
  • Do you prefer terse responses or detailed explanations?
  • Do you want Claude to ask before acting, or just do the thing?
  • What's your GitHub username?
  • Any safety rules that are non-negotiable?

Answer each one briefly . Claude drafts your CLAUDE.md based on your answers.

Step 3: Review and approve

Claude shows you the draft. Read each line. Ask yourself the decisive test: does this apply to every project I'll ever work on?

If a line feels specific to one client or one project, tell Claude:

The line about X is project-specific - remove it from global.

If something important is missing, tell Claude

Add a rule about Y under the How I work section.

When it's tight, tell Claude to save it.

What a good global CLAUDE.md looks like

Here's a real example, 23 lines, every line passes the test:

Global Rules

Who I am

  • [Your name], [role] at [company] (industry, location)
  • Australian English everywhere - spelling, date formats (DD/MM), currency (AUD unless specified)

How I work

  • Terse responses, no trailing summaries - I can read the diff
  • Bias toward action - do the thing, don't ask unless genuinely ambiguous
  • When multiple approaches exist, pick one and go - explain the choice in one line
  • Default to solving problems within Claude Code first - use built-in tools, skills, MCPs before external tools

Git

  • Identity: your-github-username / email@example.com
  • Commit messages: action prefix + clear description (Add:, Fix:, Update:, Remove:)
  • Commit frequently - after each meaningful change, not in bulk at the end
  • Never force push to main

Safety

  • NEVER fabricate metrics, numbers, or performance data - use clearly marked placeholders if unsourced
  • NEVER commit .env files, API keys, or credentials
  • Ask before any destructive operation (deleting branches, dropping data, force-resetting)

Notice what's NOT in there: no code formatting rules (Claude does this), no "write clean code" (Claude does this), no project-specific brands or clients (those go in project files).

Test that it's working

Close your current Claude Code session. Open a new terminal, type claude, and ask:

What do you know about me?

Claude should name your role, company, communication preferences, and safety rules. If it doesn't, tell Claude "audit my global CLAUDE.md and tell me what's missing or wrong".

Action items

☐ Tell Claude to draft your global CLAUDE.md and answer its questions

☐ Review the draft - apply the "every project" test to every line

☐ Cut anything project-specific or redundant

☐ Save the file to ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

☐ Start a fresh session and confirm Claude remembers you

Next lesson: Project-level CLAUDE.md.

Exercises

  1. Review the concepts covered in this lesson: Your global CLAUDE.md.
  2. Write down your key takeaway from this lesson.
  3. Practice running any commands or prompts mentioned above inside your terminal.