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CLAUDE.md Template

A minimal, effective template for Claude Code project instructions focusing on what matters.

Project: [Name]

WHY

[One paragraph: what problem this solves and why it matters]

WHAT

  • Stack: [technologies]
  • Structure: [where things live]
  • Key patterns: [2-3 architectural decisions worth knowing]

HOW

  • Build: [command]
  • Test: [command]
  • Lint: [command]

Gotchas

  • [Thing that will bite you if you don’t know]
  • [Another thing]

Don’t put style guidelines here. That’s what linters are for. Don’t enumerate every possible command. Search the codebase.