CLAUDE.md mastery

Give Claude deep, lasting project context that makes every session better

The complete CLAUDE.md template

# Project: [Name]
Version: [current]  Stack: [tech stack]  Owner: BConverse

## What this is
[2-3 sentences: what the project does, who it's for, and why it exists]

## Business context
[What the client cares about. What success means for this project.]

## Architecture overview
[High-level: what are the main parts and how do they connect]

### Key directories
- /[dir] — [what lives here]

### Key files
- [file] — [what it does and why it matters]

## Technical stack
- Runtime: [Node 18 / PHP 8.2 / etc]
- Framework: [Express / WordPress / Shopify / etc]
- Key dependencies: [list important ones]

## Development conventions
- [Convention 1 — be specific]
- Error handling: how errors should be logged
- Testing: what level of coverage is expected

## Integrations
- [Service]: [what it does, credentials in .env as VAR_NAME, rate limits]

## Common commands
npm run dev       — start development server
npm test          — run test suite
npm run deploy    — deploy to staging

## DO NOT without asking first
- [ ] Modify the database schema
- [ ] Change the API endpoint URLs
- [ ] Update the cron schedule
- [ ] Commit directly to main

## Known issues & technical debt
- [Issue 1]: [description and why it hasn't been fixed yet]

## Client context
- Client name and contact
- Technical level: [non-technical / semi-technical / technical]