CLAUDE.md · Free worked guide
CLAUDE.md vs Rules, Memory, and Task Prompts
Choose between CLAUDE.md, scoped rules, memory, and a task prompt based on lifetime, audience, and enforcement needs.
By ClaudeQuest · Reviewed · Independent learning material
Should this instruction go in CLAUDE.md or the task prompt?
Put stable shared repository facts in project guidance, narrower conventions in scoped rules, current acceptance criteria in the task brief, and reviewed durable observations in memory. None replaces access control.
Decision rule: Choose the instruction location by scope and lifetime, then choose enforcement separately.
Use it in a real situation
A one-week migration requires a temporary compatibility rule, while the repository always requires generated clients to stay synchronized.
- Name the observable outcome and the constraint that changes the decision.
- Choose the smallest action that can produce useful evidence.
- Keep permissions, uncertainty, and side effects visible before execution.
- Run a check that could disprove the approach, then record what remains unknown.
Original ClaudeQuest worked example
From vague request to reviewable result
Task or input
Keep client synchronization in project guidance; put migration dates and temporary exceptions in the task or migration plan.
Better result
Future tasks retain the durable invariant without inheriting expired release context.
How to verify it
Ask whether the instruction should still apply to a different task next month; if not, it does not belong in permanent root guidance.
Three mistakes to avoid
Copying without adaptation. Replace repository, data, user, and authority assumptions with facts from your environment.
Treating prose as enforcement. Use permissions, validation, tests, and human approval for boundaries that must hold.
Calling one success proof. Re-test the decision with a different input or context before treating it as a durable skill.
Related CLAUDE.md guides
Source and scope
Primary technical reference: Claude Code memory documentation. Source reviewed September 13, 2026. Product capabilities can change; verify time-sensitive details against the current primary documentation.
The scenario and worked example are original ClaudeQuest learning material. ClaudeQuest is independent of Anthropic and does not guarantee tool performance, certification results, or professional outcomes.
Read the editorial and evidence method →