claude-md-authoring
CLAUDE.md Authoring
Quickstart
- Determine scope: User-level (
~/.claude/) or project-level (.claude/)? - Apply WHAT/WHY/HOW framework (project-level only)
- Keep instructions under budget: ~50 for user-level, ~100 for project-level
- Never use Claude as a linter: Style rules belong in tooling, not CLAUDE.md
- Validate with quality checklist before finalizing
Core Principle
"The only thing that the model knows about your codebase is the tokens you put into it."
CLAUDE.md is the highest-leverage point for context transfer. Every instruction competes for limited attention. Include only what Claude cannot infer and must apply universally.
Scope Decision
User-Level (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md)
More from ratacat/claude-skills
ripgrep
Use when searching text in files, codebases, books, or documents. Use when finding files by pattern, searching large files that are too big to read fully, extracting specific content from many files, or when grep/find is too slow. Triggers on "search for", "find occurrences", "look for pattern", "search in files".
230clean-code
Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code. Apply when naming variables or functions, structuring classes, handling errors, writing tests, or when code feels complex or hard to understand. Based on Robert C. Martin's Clean Code.
191annas-archive-ebooks
Use when needing to look up book content, find a book by title/author, download an ebook, or reference material from a published book. Triggers on book lookups, ebook downloads, "find the book", "get the PDF/EPUB of". Downloads produce PDF/EPUB/MOBI files - use ebook-extractor skill to convert to text.
161web-interface-design
Use when designing or reviewing web UI, implementing forms/buttons/inputs, fixing visual hierarchy issues, creating color systems, building layouts, or when interface feels cluttered, hard to read, or users don't know what to click.
82brave-search
Use when user asks to search the web, look something up online, find current/recent/latest information, or needs cited answers. Triggers on "search", "look up", "find out about", "what is the current/latest", image searches, news lookups. NOT for searching code/files—only for web/internet searches.
72design-patterns
Use when designing software architecture, refactoring code structure, solving recurring design problems, or when code exhibits symptoms like tight coupling, rigid hierarchies, scattered responsibilities, or difficult-to-test components. Also use when choosing between architectural approaches or reviewing code for structural improvements.
63