Unclear What the new condition is, and so which sessions skip these files, is not known.
What
CLAUDE.md files are text files of instructions and notes that Claude Code reads into each conversation. Before, the only way to stop them loading was to set the environment variable CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_CLAUDE_MDS. Now a second, internal condition also makes Claude Code load nothing from:
- CLAUDE.md files
- rules files
- memory from project and local settings
Why
In sessions where this condition holds, Claude will not see your project instructions even though CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_CLAUDE_MDS is not set.
Names in the bundleCLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_CLAUDE_MDS
Documented inclaude-code/agent-sdk/modifying-system-prompts
Something disagreesSomething we can check disagrees with this entry, or the writer said they could not settle it.
The writer flagged doubt
What the new condition is, and so which sessions skip these files, is not known.