Claude Code — Starter Boilerplate

A ready-to-use .claude/ folder + CLAUDE.md for your project. Clone, copy, edit.

Part of agent-anatomy — boilerplates for every AI coding agent.

📊 View diagram →

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Usage

git clone https://github.com/agent-anatomy/claude.git .claude-boilerplate
cp .claude-boilerplate/CLAUDE.md ./CLAUDE.md
cp .claude-boilerplate/CLAUDE.local.md.example ./CLAUDE.local.md
cp -r .claude-boilerplate/.claude ./.claude
rm -rf .claude-boilerplate

Then edit CLAUDE.md and .claude/ to match your project.

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What's included

.claude/
├── settings.json              ← default permissions (edit as needed)
├── settings.local.json.example → copy → settings.local.json (gitignored)
├── commands/
│   ├── review.md              → /project:review
│   ├── fix-issue.md           → /project:fix-issue
│   └── deploy.md              → /project:deploy
├── rules/
│   ├── code-style.md          ← coding conventions
│   ├── testing.md             ← test rules
│   └── api-conventions.md     ← API patterns
└── agents/
    ├── code-reviewer.md       ← strict review persona
    └── security-auditor.md    ← security audit persona
CLAUDE.md                      ← main instruction file (edit this first)
CLAUDE.local.md.example        → copy → CLAUDE.local.md (gitignored)

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What is CLAUDE.md?

CLAUDE.md is the primary instruction file for Claude Code. Claude reads it automatically at the start of every session. It tells Claude about your project — the stack, commands, conventions, and rules it must follow.

Think of it as a README for Claude, not for humans.

What to put in CLAUDE.md:

• Project overview (2-3 sentences)
• Build, test, lint commands
• Coding conventions
• What Claude should never touch
• Domain-specific context not obvious from the code

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What is the .claude/ folder?

The .claude/ folder is the control center for Claude Code in your project. It contains:

Path	Purpose
settings.json	Which tools Claude can run without asking
commands/	Custom /project: slash commands
rules/	Modular instruction files
agents/	Subagent personas for specialized tasks

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What to commit vs gitignore

File	Commit?
CLAUDE.md	✅ Yes
CLAUDE.local.md	❌ No — personal
.claude/settings.json	✅ Yes
.claude/settings.local.json	❌ No — personal
.claude/commands/	✅ Yes
.claude/rules/	✅ Yes
.claude/agents/	✅ Yes

Add to your .gitignore:

CLAUDE.local.md
.claude/settings.local.json

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FAQ

Does Claude Code read CLAUDE.md automatically? Yes. Every session, without you doing anything.

Can I have multiple CLAUDE.md files? Yes. One at the root, plus one in any subdirectory. Claude merges them — subdirectory rules apply when working in that subtree.

What's the difference between CLAUDE.md and .claude/rules/? CLAUDE.md is the main file — start here. rules/ is for splitting large instruction sets into topic files that Claude also loads.

Should I commit .claude/settings.json? Yes. It defines which tools Claude can run in your project. Commit it so the whole team gets the same defaults.

What are Claude Code slash commands? Commands you invoke with /project:name. Each .md file in .claude/commands/ becomes one. The file content is the prompt Claude receives.

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