A System for Claude Code to Learn Your Project Over Time

A developer on r/ClaudeAI shared a system to address Claude Code's lack of persistent context between sessions. Instead of starting from scratch each time, this setup helps Claude learn your project's conventions, architecture, and past mistakes.

The Problem and Solution

When using Claude Code, each new session loses all previous context. Claude re-reads files it already understood, repeats corrected mistakes, and ignores established patterns, requiring constant re-explanation.

The solution involves adding a few files to any repository:

• CLAUDE.md - A short set of rules telling Claude how to behave. Examples include "ask before proceeding if something is unclear" and "don't run tests yourself, tell me what to run instead" (which saves money by avoiding token waste on error chasing).
• docs/ folder - Contains short files (5-10 lines each) capturing project conventions, patterns, and architecture, organized into subfolders. An index file (docs/README.md) helps Claude quickly find the right document instead of guessing.

Three Key Prompts

• bootstrap - Pasted once when adopting an existing codebase. Claude reads your code and writes the initial documentation.
• refine - Pasted at the end of a session. Claude reflects on what happened and updates the documentation with new learnings.
• factory - Pasted when Claude does something you want to repeat. It captures the pattern as a reusable prompt.

The Workflow Loop

The process creates a continuous learning cycle: You code with Claude → session ends → you paste the refine prompt → Claude updates the docs → you commit → next session starts smarter. Since the documentation lives in git, everyone on your team benefits from it, and it works with any tech stack.

Practical Tips from Implementation

• Explicitly tell Claude not to run build/test commands to avoid burning tokens chasing errors. Instead, have it tell you what commands to run.
• Use specific numbers in rules (e.g., "pause if changing 3+ files") rather than vague terms like "pause for complex tasks," as Claude wastes time interpreting ambiguity.
• An index file for your docs folder pays off immediately by preventing Claude from opening random files hoping to find relevant information.

The system is free and open source, available at saas-vibe.