Claude Code Configuration & Workflows

Knowledge of

• The CLAUDE.md configuration hierarchy: user-level (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md), project-level (.claude/CLAUDE.md or root CLAUDE.md), and directory-level (subdirectory CLAUDE.md files)
• That user-level settings apply only to that user--instructions in ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md are not shared with teammates via version control
• The @import syntax for referencing external files to keep CLAUDE.md modular (e.g., importing specific standards files relevant to each package)
• .claude/rules/ directory for organizing topic-specific rule files as an alternative to a monolithic CLAUDE.md

Skills in

• Diagnosing configuration hierarchy issues (e.g., a new team member not receiving instructions because they're in user-level rather than project-level configuration)
• Using @import to selectively include relevant standards files in each package's CLAUDE.md based on maintainer domain knowledge
• Splitting large CLAUDE.md files into focused topic-specific files in .claude/rules/ (e.g., testing.md, api-conventions.md, deployment.md)
• Using the /memory command to verify which memory files are loaded and diagnose inconsistent behavior across sessions

Knowledge of

• Project-scoped commands in .claude/commands/ (shared via version control) vs user-scoped commands in ~/.claude/commands/ (personal)
• Skills in .claude/skills/ with SKILL.md files that support frontmatter configuration including context: fork, allowed-tools, and argument-hint
• The context: fork frontmatter option for running skills in an isolated sub-agent context, preventing skill outputs from polluting the main conversation
• Personal skill customization: creating personal variants in ~/.claude/skills/ with different names to avoid affecting teammates

Skills in

• Creating project-scoped slash commands in .claude/commands/ for team-wide availability via version control
• Using context: fork to isolate skills that produce verbose output (e.g., codebase analysis) or exploratory context (e.g., brainstorming alternatives) from the main session
• Configuring allowed-tools in skill frontmatter to restrict tool access during skill execution (e.g., limiting to file write operations to prevent destructive actions)
• Using argument-hint frontmatter to prompt developers for required parameters when they invoke the skill without arguments
• Choosing between skills (on-demand invocation for task-specific workflows) and CLAUDE.md (always-loaded universal standards)

Knowledge of

• .claude/rules/ files with YAML frontmatter paths fields containing glob patterns for conditional rule activation
• How path-scoped rules load only when editing matching files, reducing irrelevant context and token usage
• The advantage of glob-pattern rules over directory-level CLAUDE.md files for conventions that span multiple directories (e.g., test files spread throughout a codebase)

Skills in

• Creating .claude/rules/ files with YAML frontmatter path scoping (e.g., paths: ["terraform/**/*"]) so rules load only when editing matching files
• Using glob patterns in path-specific rules to apply conventions to files by type regardless of directory location (e.g., **/*.test.tsx for all test files)
• Choosing path-specific rules over subdirectory CLAUDE.md files when conventions must apply to files spread across the codebase

Knowledge of

• Plan mode is designed for complex tasks involving large-scale changes, multiple valid approaches, architectural decisions, and multi-file modifications
• Direct execution is appropriate for simple, well-scoped changes (e.g., adding a single validation check to one function)
• Plan mode enables safe codebase exploration and design before committing to changes, preventing costly rework
• The Explore subagent for isolating verbose discovery output and returning summaries to preserve main conversation context

Skills in

• Selecting plan mode for tasks with architectural implications (e.g., microservice restructuring, library migrations affecting 45+ files, choosing between integration approaches with different infrastructure requirements)
• Selecting direct execution for well-understood changes with clear scope (e.g., a single-file bug fix with a clear stack trace, adding a date validation conditional)
• Using the Explore subagent for verbose discovery phases to prevent context window exhaustion during multi-phase tasks
• Combining plan mode for investigation with direct execution for implementation (e.g., planning a library migration, then executing the planned approach)

Knowledge of

• Concrete input/output examples as the most effective way to communicate expected transformations when prose descriptions are interpreted inconsistently
• Test-driven iteration: writing test suites first, then iterating by sharing test failures to guide progressive improvement
• The interview pattern: having Claude ask questions to surface considerations the developer may not have anticipated before implementing
• When to provide all issues in a single message (interacting problems) versus fixing them sequentially (independent problems)

Skills in

• Providing 2-3 concrete input/output examples to clarify transformation requirements when natural language descriptions produce inconsistent results
• Writing test suites covering expected behavior, edge cases, and performance requirements before implementation, then iterating by sharing test failures
• Using the interview pattern to surface design considerations (e.g., cache invalidation strategies, failure modes) before implementing solutions in unfamiliar domains
• Providing specific test cases with example input and expected output to fix edge case handling (e.g., null values in migration scripts)
• Addressing multiple interacting issues in a single detailed message when fixes interact, versus sequential iteration for independent issues

Knowledge of

• The -p (or --print) flag for running Claude Code in non-interactive mode in automated pipelines
• --output-format json and --json-schema CLI flags for enforcing structured output in CI contexts
• CLAUDE.md as the mechanism for providing project context (testing standards, fixture conventions, review criteria) to CI-invoked Claude Code
• Session context isolation: why the same Claude session that generated code is less effective at reviewing its own changes compared to an independent review instance

Skills in

• Running Claude Code in CI with the -p flag to prevent interactive input hangs
• Using --output-format json with --json-schema to produce machine-parseable structured findings for automated posting as inline PR comments
• Including prior review findings in context when re-running reviews after new commits, instructing Claude to report only new or still-unaddressed issues to avoid duplicate comments
• Providing existing test files in context so test generation avoids suggesting duplicate scenarios already covered by the test suite
• Documenting testing standards, valuable test criteria, and available fixtures in CLAUDE.md to improve test generation quality and reduce low-value test output