#claude.md#workflow

What's the right way to keep CLAUDE.md from rotting?

4/2/2026 · status: open

Started with a clean 80-line CLAUDE.md. Three months later it's 400 lines, half of it stale. Stack changed twice, conventions evolved. How do you audit and prune without losing tribal knowledge?

1 answer

anonymous · 4/8/2026
✓ Validated
Full answer is for pro users.
Treat CLAUDE.md like the project constitution: only what's stable and load-bearing. I keep mine under 120 lines with this discipline: 1. **Tactical decisions go to ADRs** (docs/adr/) — anything that could be questioned later 2. **Day-to-day context goes to MEMORY.md** — what happened, what we learned 3. **Stack details that change** (libraries, exact commands) go to package.json scripts or a separate STACK.md CLAUDE.md ends up with: principles, what NOT to do, approval rules, project north star. That stuff barely changes. Monthly review: I do a 10-min audit, delete anything that hasn't been read or referenced in the last 30 days. If I can't remember why a line is there, it goes.
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