Why conciseness matters

Models don't "think" - they generate text based on previous text.

What the model sees:

• System prompt + CLAUDE.md files
• Code files it reads
• MCP server responses, tool results, etc

Confusing or unrelated content increases entropy - the model has more noise to work through.

Keep context clean

Be concise. Only include what the model truly needs.

Start fresh often. Use /new or exit and relaunch sessions frequently.

Every instruction competes for the model's attention.

When CLAUDE.md Loads

~/.claude/CLAUDE.md     # Always loaded (personal prefs)

~/pla/CLAUDE.md         # Loaded when you start a session here

~/pla/CLAUDE.local.md   # Personal additions (gitignored)

All files are loaded and appended. Treat changes like code review.

Progressive Disclosure

Add CLAUDE.md files in subdirectories - loaded only when working there.

project/
├── CLAUDE.md              # Build commands, architecture
├── src/
│   ├── CLAUDE.md          # Code patterns
│   └── models/
│       └── CLAUDE.md      # Model conventions
├── tests/
│   └── CLAUDE.md          # Test utilities
└── docs/
    └── CLAUDE.md          # Doc style

tests/CLAUDE.md loads only when working in tests/.

Writing Tips

• Be concise - read and be skeptical of every line
• Be specific - "Use Pest" not "Use appropriate testing"
• Include commands - npm run dev, zar migrate
• Skip obvious things - no standard conventions
• No code formatting rules - it's not an expensive, slow linter

Example: Root

# Project Name

Laravel 11 + Livewire 3. SingleStore database.

## Commands
- `zar migrate` - Run migrations
- `zex vendor/bin/pint --dirty` - Format code

## Patterns
- Multi-tenant: filter by tenant_id

Example: Subdirectory

# tests/CLAUDE.md

## Multi-tenancy
Call `createNewTenantAndSetAsCurrent()` in beforeEach().

## Factories
Located in `database/factories/`.