CLAUDE.md Generator

What CLAUDE.md actually does

CLAUDE.md is the single file that Claude Code reads first every time you open a session inside a project. Anything in it becomes background context for every prompt you write that day. If you tell it which test command to use, it will use that one. If you list rules, it will follow them. If you describe your code style, it will match it. Most of the friction people have with Claude Code - 'why does it keep adding unnecessary helpers' or 'why did it pick the wrong test command' - is downstream of an empty or generic CLAUDE.md. Five minutes of writing this file saves hours of correcting the model later.

Think of CLAUDE.md as the README you wish every new contributor had read before they touched the repo. It is not documentation in the formal sense. It is a working agreement: how you talk about the project, which scripts matter, what the conventions are, what you do not want changed. Claude Code is excellent at following written conventions when they are written down somewhere it can see. CLAUDE.md is that place.

Where to put it and how it gets loaded

Save the output of this generator as CLAUDE.md at the root of your repo - the same folder that contains your package.json, your pyproject.toml, or your Cargo.toml. That is the only location that gets auto-loaded into context. You can also put a CLAUDE.md inside a subfolder if you want different rules for one part of the codebase - the model walks up the tree and merges what it finds.

• Root level - global rules for the whole repo. Most projects only need this one.
• Per-package - for monorepos where each package has different scripts or conventions.
• Per-feature - for areas of the codebase with unusual constraints, like a legacy module you want left alone.

What goes inside (and what to leave out)

Good CLAUDE.md files are short, specific, and high-signal. Every sentence either describes a fact about the project, a script the model needs to run, or a rule it must follow. Leave out anything that is generic advice or that the model already knows - it does not need a tutorial on TypeScript or a paragraph about why testing matters. It needs to know which command you run, which folder houses your components, and what your team has agreed not to do.

• Project identity - one line so the model frames its output in your domain language.
• Stack - language, framework, package manager. The model uses these to pick the right syntax, the right command names, and the right defaults.
• Commands - the exact dev / build / test / lint commands. If you write `npm test` here, the model will not invent `yarn test` later.
• Rules - hard constraints that are non-negotiable. These read like 'never X' or 'always Y'.
• Preferences - softer guidance about style, tone, and tradeoffs. The model will follow these unless you override them in a specific prompt.

Rules that actually move the needle

The rules section is where most of the value lives. The right rule kills an entire class of bad output. The most useful rules in real codebases tend to be variations of: 'use the existing pattern, not a new one', 'run tests before claiming done', 'do not touch generated files', and 'ask before doing X'. Those four families cover ninety percent of the corrections people end up giving Claude Code mid-session. Write them once here and you stop writing them every prompt.

1. Pick four to six rules max. More than that and the model starts ignoring the back half.
2. Phrase each one in plain English. 'Never commit .env files' beats a regex.
3. Put the reason after the rule when it is non-obvious. 'Run tests before declaring done because our CI is slow and we cannot afford a broken main.'
4. Update the file when you find yourself correcting the same mistake twice. That is the signal that the correction belongs in CLAUDE.md.

What a healthy iteration loop looks like

CLAUDE.md is not a one-time setup. Treat it like a living config file. Every time Claude Code does something that surprises you - good or bad - ask whether a sentence in CLAUDE.md would have prevented or encouraged that behavior. If yes, add the sentence. Over a few weeks the file evolves into a high-fidelity description of how your team actually wants the model to work. New teammates can read it and instantly understand the conventions.

Beyond the basics

Once you have a CLAUDE.md that holds up across a week of work, the next big upgrade is MCP servers - the protocol that lets Claude Code reach beyond your filesystem into your database, your design system, or your project tracker. The Claude Code Club curriculum walks through every layer of that workflow, from the first CLAUDE.md to your first agent. The generator above gets you the first layer in under a minute. Use it, ship something, and come back when you are ready for the rest.