Golden CLAUDE.Md

Golden CLAUDE.md

English | [中文](README-zh.md)

A copy-paste-ready behavioral template for [Claude Code](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code). Research-backed. Operational. Under 100 lines.

Distilled from 30+ of the most successful CLAUDE.md files, blog posts, and Anthropic's own documentation into one firm, general-purpose set of behavioral rules.

Quick Start

**Install** (recommended) — apply globally as your default Claude Code behavior:

mkdir -p ~/.claude && curl -o ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Z-M-Huang/golden-CLAUDE.md/main/CLAUDE.md

This is the recommended approach. Behavioral rules are universal — they don't change per project, so user scope (`~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`) is the natural home. Your project-root `CLAUDE.md` stays free for project-specific context (tech stack, test commands, conventions).

**Share with your team** — commit to your repository as a rules file:

mkdir -p .claude/rules && curl -o .claude/rules/golden.md https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Z-M-Huang/golden-CLAUDE.md/main/CLAUDE.md

Using `.claude/rules/` instead of the project root keeps the behavioral rules separate from project context. Claude Code loads both automatically.

**Existing CLAUDE.md** — paste the golden rules at the **top** of your file, above your project-specific rules. Behavioral rules go first for maximum attention budget.

If your combined CLAUDE.md exceeds ~120 lines, consider splitting: behavioral rules in `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`, project-specific rules in `./CLAUDE.md`. See the [wiki](../../wiki/FAQ) for details.

What's Inside

Section	Purpose
Core Commitments	6 core commitments — verification, honesty, tool-backed facts, diligence, code understanding, safety
Before Changing Code	Pre-edit checklist — read first, check existing patterns, never assume
Honesty & Communication	Anti-sycophancy, surface confusion, push back on bad ideas
**Ver