CLAUDE.md Is RAM, Not Disk
Alberto Arena · blog · prompting, agents
What it is — An argument for treating CLAUDE.md as small, constantly-loaded working memory, and pushing everything else into a docs/ folder that’s only pulled in on demand.
Key points
CLAUDE.mdloads into every session and costs tokens every time, so keep it to a short project overview, pinned stack/versions, exact commands, and one-line pointers — not exhaustive detail.- Move deeper material into
docs/(architecture inDESIGN.md, a phased roadmap inPLAN.md, a lightweight decision log inDECISIONS.md) referenced only when needed. - Nested, folder-level
CLAUDE.mdfiles keep domain-specific rules local instead of bloating the root file.
Shared by Tom Harper in #ai-dev.