Level 6 — Teach the Project: CLAUDE.md and Memory

12 questions, drawn from a bank of 26 across 24 topics. Pass at 80%. Every wrong option carries a note explaining why it is tempting — those notes are the point of the quiz, so read them whether you pass or not.

attempt 1

1 / 12 · Choose one
Exactly one line in this CLAUDE.md section clears the documented bar for an instruction. Which, and on what basis?
terminal
```
## Style
- Format code properly
- Test your changes
- Keep files organized
- API handlers live in `src/api/handlers/`
```
Exactly one line in this CLAUDE.md section clears the documented bar for an instruction. Which, and on what basis?
The last line — you can look at a diff and say whether it complied"Format code properly", because one line covers every formatting question at once"Keep files organized", because it leaves Claude room to apply project judgement"Test your changes", because it names an obligation any engineer would understand
2 / 12 · Choose one
A project's settings carry "autoMemoryEnabled": false. You want auto memory for one session, without editing any settings file, your own local one included. What do you set?
A project's settings carry "autoMemoryEnabled": false. You want auto memory for one session, without editing any settings file, your own local one included. What do you set?
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_AUTO_MEMORY=1, which flips whatever the settings key currently saysCLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_AUTO_MEMORY=0, which forces auto memory on for this session"autoMemoryEnabled": true in .claude/settings.local.jsonNothing — a project-level false is final, and the /memory toggle only writes user settings
3 / 12 · Choose one
"Never edit a migration after it has merged" lives in a rule scoped to db/migrations/**. Ninety minutes and two compactions into a session, Claude edits one. What does the documentation tell you to change?
"Never edit a migration after it has merged" lives in a rule scoped to db/migrations/**. Ninety minutes and two compactions into a session, Claude edits one. What does the documentation tell you to change?
Restate the rule in chat each time you see the compaction notice, so it re-enters the windowWiden the glob to **/* so the rule matches every file Claude readsNothing — path-scoped rules sit on the re-injected half of the table with the root CLAUDE.mdDrop the paths: frontmatter, or move the rule to the project-root CLAUDE.md
4 / 12 · Choose one
Your ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md says "prefer npm". The repo's CLAUDE.md says "always use pnpm". Both loaded this session. What do the docs actually promise happens next?
Your ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md says "prefer npm". The repo's CLAUDE.md says "always use pnpm". Both loaded this session. What do the docs actually promise happens next?
The more specific file overrides the broader one key by key, the way settings.local.json overrides settings.jsonAt startup Claude flags the contradiction and asks which of the two rules to followBoth sit in context — concatenation, not precedence — and Claude may pick one arbitrarilyThe project file appears in context after the personal one, and the later instruction wins, so pnpm is the effective rule
5 / 12 · Choose all that apply
After a /compact, which of these come back into context from disk rather than surviving only as far as the summary carries them? Select all that apply.
After a /compact, which of these come back into context from disk rather than surviving only as far as the summary carries them? Select all that apply.
Rules in .claude/rules/ with no paths: frontmatterAuto memoryThe project-root CLAUDE.mdA nested packages/api/CLAUDE.md that loaded earlier in the sessionA rule scoped with paths: ["src/api/**"]
6 / 12 · Choose one
A teammate ran /init on Monday and committed the result unedited. On Friday /doctor proposes deleting a large part of that file. Who was wrong?
A teammate ran /init on Monday and committed the result unedited. On Friday /doctor proposes deleting a large part of that file. Who was wrong?
Monday was — /init writes down what it read from the codebase, which is exactly what the trim check cutsFriday was — /doctor cannot know why a line is there, so its proposals should be ignoredMonday was, because /init silently overwrote the CLAUDE.md the repo already hadNeither — /init analyses the codebase and produces a finished, committable CLAUDE.md
7 / 12 · Choose one
You move 120 lines out of CLAUDE.md into four files under .claude/rules/ and add no frontmatter to any of them. What has changed about your startup context?
You move 120 lines out of CLAUDE.md into four files under .claude/rules/ and add no frontmatter to any of them. What has changed about your startup context?
Nothing — rules without paths frontmatter are loaded at launch with the same priority as .claude/CLAUDE.mdStartup context drops by 120 lines, because only .claude/CLAUDE.md is discovered automaticallyThe four files now load only when Claude reads a file they relate to, like a nested CLAUDE.mdThey load after your first prompt rather than at launch, so the opening turn is cheaper
8 / 12 · Choose one
You type "remember that we always use pnpm, not npm". Where does that land, and what would have put it in CLAUDE.md instead?
You type "remember that we always use pnpm, not npm". Where does that land, and what would have put it in CLAUDE.md instead?
Both — the team gets the rule and Claude also keeps its own noteCLAUDE.md, because the word "always" marks it as a standing project ruleNowhere durable — it holds for this session and is summarised away with everything elseAuto memory. To reach CLAUDE.md, ask directly — "add this to CLAUDE.md"
9 / 12 · Choose one
This rule never loads when Claude reads a file under logs 2026/. What is wrong, and what happened to the second pattern?
terminal
```
---
paths:
  - "logs [2026/**"
  - "src/**/*.ts"
---
 
- Redact tokens before quoting a log line
```
This rule never loads when Claude reads a file under logs 2026/. What is wrong, and what happened to the second pattern?
The rule did load on the first Read, and a later compaction summarised it out of the windowThe unclosed [ makes that pattern invalid: it matches nothing, and the rule's other patterns keep workingThe whole rule is invalid, so src/**/*.ts never loads either and the redaction line is dead in every sessionA paths pattern cannot contain a space, so logs 2026/ cannot be matched by any glob
10 / 12 · Choose one
Another team keeps AGENTS.md current in your repo. You want Claude Code to follow it without maintaining a second copy. Which approach stays in step, and which quietly goes stale?
Another team keeps AGENTS.md current in your repo. You want Claude Code to follow it without maintaining a second copy. Which approach stays in step, and which quietly goes stale?
A CLAUDE.md whose first line is @AGENTS.md stays live; /import appends a one-time copy/import is the right choice, since it is the command built for adopting another agent's configurationNo bridge is needed — Claude Code discovers AGENTS.md at launch like any memory fileln -s AGENTS.md CLAUDE.md is the only live option, and it works the same everywhere
11 / 12 · Choose all that apply
Which of these belong in the **exclude** column of the documented CLAUDE.md sorting table? Select all that apply.
Which of these belong in the **exclude** column of the documented CLAUDE.md sorting table? Select all that apply.
A file-by-file description of the codebaseThe dependency's API documented in detail, rather than a link to itYour branch-naming and pull-request conventionsThe one command that runs integration tests, which needs a local Postgres on a non-default port"Write clean, readable code"
12 / 12 · Choose one
Your 320-line CLAUDE.md becomes a 40-line root file plus seven @ imports. How much startup context did that save?
Your 320-line CLAUDE.md becomes a 40-line root file plus seven @ imports. How much startup context did that save?
Nothing at startup, but the seven imported files drop out at the first compaction and only the root returnsNone — imported files are expanded into context at launch. You bought organisation.Enough to meet the documented target, since the root file is now well under the 200 lines the docs ask forRoughly 280 lines, since an imported file is pulled in only when something in the conversation needs it

12 questions still to answer