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HomeDocsClaude Code CLI 6 Oct 2026
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How Claude remembers your project changedmemory

Nearest release: v2.1.291, published 2 hours after upstream edited the page. Shown because the two are within 24 hours of each other. Nothing here says the release caused the edit.

Upstream edited this page at 6 Oct 2026 01:07 UTC, give or take a minute or two: the time comes from Anthropic’s own sitemap rather than from a commit. This site recorded the change at 6 Oct 2026 01:37 UTC.

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5757| **Project instructions** | `./CLAUDE.md` or `./.claude/CLAUDE.md`. See [AGENTS.md](#agents-md) for when `./AGENTS.md` loads instead of or alongside them | Team-shared instructions for the project | Project architecture, coding standards, common workflows | Team members via source control |
5858| **Local instructions** | `./CLAUDE.local.md` | Personal project-specific preferences; add to `.gitignore` | Your sandbox URLs, preferred test data | Just you (current project) |
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60CLAUDE.md and CLAUDE.local.md files in the directory hierarchy above the working directory are loaded at launch. Files in subdirectories load on demand when Claude reads files in those directories. See [How CLAUDE.md files load](#how-claude-md-files-load) for the full resolution order.
60CLAUDE.md and CLAUDE.local.md files in the directory hierarchy above the working directory are loaded at launch. Files in subdirectories load on demand. See [How CLAUDE.md files load](#how-claude-md-files-load) for when they load and the full resolution order.
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6262For large projects, you can break instructions into topic-specific files using [project rules](#organize-rules-with-claude/rules/). Rules let you scope instructions to specific file types or subdirectories.
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140140All discovered files are concatenated into context rather than overriding each other. Across the directory tree, content is ordered from the filesystem root down to your working directory. For the `foo/bar/` example, `foo/CLAUDE.md` appears in context before `foo/bar/CLAUDE.md`, so instructions closer to where you launched Claude are read last. Within each directory, `CLAUDE.local.md` is appended after `CLAUDE.md`, so your personal notes are the last thing Claude reads at that level.
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142Claude also discovers `CLAUDE.md` and `CLAUDE.local.md` files in subdirectories under your current working directory. Instead of loading them at launch, they are included when Claude reads files in those subdirectories. A subdirectory `CLAUDE.md` that Claude already read, wrote, or edited with the Read, Write, or Edit tool isn't loaded this way, because its contents are already in the conversation. For files inside a worktree under `.claude/worktrees/`, see [Isolate subagents with worktrees](/docs/en/worktrees#isolate-subagents-with-worktrees).
142Claude also discovers `CLAUDE.md` and `CLAUDE.local.md` files in subdirectories under your current working directory. Instead of loading them at launch, Claude Code includes them when Claude uses the [Read](/docs/en/tools-reference#read-tool-behavior), [Write](/docs/en/tools-reference#write-tool-behavior), or [Edit](/docs/en/tools-reference#edit-tool-behavior) tool on a file in those subdirectories. If Claude already used one of those tools on a subdirectory's `CLAUDE.md` itself, that file isn't loaded this way, because Claude Code treats it as already in the conversation. For files inside a worktree under `.claude/worktrees/`, see [Isolate subagents with worktrees](/docs/en/worktrees#isolate-subagents-with-worktrees).
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144144If you work in a large monorepo where other teams' CLAUDE.md files get picked up, use [`claudeMdExcludes`](#exclude-specific-claude-md-files) to skip them. For the full layout of root and per-directory CLAUDE.md files and rules, see [Monorepos and large repos](/docs/en/large-codebases).
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383383| `claude-md-or-agents-md` | Your `CLAUDE.md` files, or your `AGENTS.md` files when you have no `CLAUDE.md` or `CLAUDE.local.md` in your working directory or above it. This is the default |
384384| `claude-md-and-agents-md` | Your `CLAUDE.md` and `AGENTS.md` files together, each directory's `CLAUDE.md` files first and its `AGENTS.md` after them. Claude Code skips an `AGENTS.md` it has already loaded, so one that your `CLAUDE.md` imports or symlinks to isn't read twice |
385385| `claude-md` | Your `CLAUDE.md` files only |
386| `managed-only` | Only your organization's managed `CLAUDE.md` and [auto memory](#auto-memory) at launch. Your project, local, and user `CLAUDE.md` files, your `.claude/rules/` files, and every `AGENTS.md` are left out. A subdirectory's `CLAUDE.md` and `.claude/rules/` files, and [path-scoped rules](#path-specific-rules), still load when Claude reads a file there |
386| `managed-only` | Only your organization's managed `CLAUDE.md` and [auto memory](#auto-memory) at launch. Your project, local, and user `CLAUDE.md` files, your `.claude/rules/` files, and every `AGENTS.md` are left out. A subdirectory's `CLAUDE.md` and `.claude/rules/` files, and [path-scoped rules](#path-specific-rules), still load on demand |
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388388You can also set the value in a settings file instead of `/config`. Add it under the built-in `agents-md` plugin's ID in [`pluginConfigs`](/docs/en/settings-reference#pluginconfigs), in `~/.claude/settings.json`, a `--settings` file, or [managed settings](/docs/en/managed-settings). Claude Code ignores it in project and local settings files. This example has Claude read both files:
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615615### Instructions seem lost after `/compact`
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617Project-root CLAUDE.md survives compaction: after `/compact`, Claude re-reads it from disk and re-injects it into the session. Nested CLAUDE.md files in subdirectories and rules with [`paths:` frontmatter](#path-specific-rules) reload as Claude reads files they apply to.
617Project-root CLAUDE.md survives compaction: after `/compact`, Claude re-reads it from disk and re-injects it into the session. Nested CLAUDE.md files in subdirectories and rules with [`paths:` frontmatter](#path-specific-rules) load again on demand.
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619619If an instruction disappeared after compaction, it was given only in conversation, lives in a nested CLAUDE.md that hasn't reloaded yet, or is a path-scoped rule that hasn't matched a file since. Add conversation-only instructions to CLAUDE.md to make them persist. See [What survives compaction](/docs/en/context-window#what-survives-compaction) for the full breakdown.
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