{"version":"2.1.282","anchor":"claudemd-scan-skips-the-project-directory-walk-when-project","canonical_anchor":"claudemd-scan-skips-the-project-directory-walk-when-project","heading":"CLAUDE.md search skips project folders when project and local settings are off","tier":"notice","area":"Elsewhere","url":"https:\/\/changelogs.core-directive.com\/v\/2.1.282\/e\/claudemd-scan-skips-the-project-directory-walk-when-project","release_url":"https:\/\/changelogs.core-directive.com\/v\/2.1.282","markdown":"### CLAUDE.md search skips project folders when project and local settings are off\n\nClaude Code no longer walks up your project folders looking for CLAUDE.md files when both project and local setting sources are turned off\n\n**Unclear.** It is unclear whether this has any effect a user would notice.\n\n**What**\n\n`CLAUDE.md` files hold instructions Claude reads at the start of a session. To find them, Claude Code walks from your current folder up through each parent folder, looking for:\n\n- `CLAUDE.md`\n\n- `.claude\/CLAUDE.md`\n\n- `.claude\/rules`\n\n- `CLAUDE.local.md`\n\nThis walk now only happens when the `projectSettings` or `localSettings` setting source is enabled. Before, the walk always ran, and each file found was then kept or dropped according to which sources were enabled. You can choose setting sources with `--setting-sources`.\n\n**Why**\n\nWhen you run with `--setting-sources` and leave out both project and local settings, Claude Code skips file lookups it would have thrown away anyway. The instructions Claude receives appear to be the same as before.\n\n- Area: Elsewhere\n- Tier: You'll notice\n- Useful: 2\/5\n- Signal: 1\/5"}