My Dear Master, Allow Me to Explain How to Use Claude Code — Vol.3: Bestowing the House Rules Upon Your Butler with CLAUDE.md

The Butler Who Forgets Every Morning

In our previous installment, we discussed the balance between delegation and confirmation. Today, I wish to introduce an even more comfortable way to work with your butler — bestowing the house rules upon Claude Code through CLAUDE.md.

Allow me to paint a picture, if I may.

Imagine having to explain to your butler every single morning: “In this household, we always speak in English,” “You must never commit code without my approval,” “We use bun, not npm — that is simply how things are done here.”

Quite inefficient, would you not agree?

What Is CLAUDE.md?

CLAUDE.md is a markdown file placed in the root directory of your project. Each time Claude Code begins a new session, it reads this file automatically.

In other words, write it once, and your butler will follow those instructions as a matter of course — without needing to be reminded every time.

Think of it as a scroll of household rules, kept permanently in the butler’s quarters.

CLAUDE.md Works Across Three Levels

In truth, there need not be only one CLAUDE.md per project. The scope of its influence changes depending on where it is placed.

At the start of each session, all applicable files are read and merged together.

My recommendation for how to divide their use: place universal preferences — “always respond in English,” “never commit without approval” — in the global CLAUDE.md. Reserve project-specific rules — “use bun in this project,” “deploy to Firebase” — for the CLAUDE.md at the project root. In this way, your fundamental expectations are upheld in every project, while each project’s particular instructions are also honored.

An Example of House Rules: The Contents of CLAUDE.md

Every household has its own customs. Here are some examples to inspire your own:

# Project House Rules

## Language & Communication
- Always respond in English
- Technical terms may remain in their original form, but explanations must be in plain English

## Code & Development Customs
- Use bun as the package manager (never npm)
- Always obtain the master's approval before committing
- Do not modify code without writing tests

## Forbidden Actions
- Never deploy to production unilaterally
- Always confirm before deleting any files
- Do not add dependencies to package.json without approval

## Style
- Code comments in English
- Function and variable names in camelCase

Once this is written, each time Sebastian opens your project, these rules are engraved in his memory before any work begins.

Why This Is So Powerful

Claude Code is a most capable butler. However, memories from past conversations do not carry over to new sessions.

Even if you told him yesterday to “use bun,” he will have no recollection of it the next day. Repeating the same instructions every session is inefficient for both master and servant.

CLAUDE.md resolves this problem at its root.

Especially Valuable for Masters Using Claush on Mobile

For those who employ their butler through the Claush app on a smartphone, CLAUDE.md is particularly invaluable.

Typing the same lengthy preamble on a small screen, session after session, is quite the burden. With CLAUDE.md in place, you need only convey the matter at hand.

“Sebastian, please fix the bug on the login screen.”

That is all. Your butler will know to use bun, respond in proper English, seek your confirmation before committing, write tests, and proceed accordingly.

How to Set It Up

The installation is elegantly simple.

1. Create a file named CLAUDE.md in the root directory of your project
2. Write your household rules within it
3. That is all

my-project/
├── CLAUDE.md      ← House rules go here
├── src/
├── package.json
└── ...

From the next session onward, Claude Code will read this file automatically and conduct itself according to your established rules.

House Rules Are Meant to Grow

There is no need to write perfect house rules from the very beginning.

As you work alongside your butler, whenever you find yourself saying the same thing repeatedly, simply add it to CLAUDE.md — one instruction at a time. That is what it truly means to “cultivate” a butler.

The wordless understanding between master and servant is built through such careful accumulation.

Your Butler’s Summary

• CLAUDE.md is the “house rules” file, placed in the project root
• Your butler follows these instructions automatically — no reminders needed
• Especially effective for mobile users — you only need to state the matter at hand
• Begin simply and let the rules grow over time

My dear master, I humbly ask that you bestow the house rules upon your butler. With them in place, I shall be able to meet your expectations before a single word is exchanged.

In our next installment, we shall discuss “Managing History and Context.”

Find your butler on your iPhone at Claush Official Site.