Has anyone noticed that Claude Code frequently fails to read the CLAUDE.md file? For instance, I've asked it to print an emoji or some text in its responses, confirming that it has understood the instructions within the CLAUDE.md. However, when the emoji isn't displayed, it tends to ignore other directives, leading to subpar outputs. It's frustrating because it feels like I have to reset everything just to get it to function properly. Has anyone experienced similar issues?
3 Answers
Have you tried A/B testing different parts of your CLAUDE.md to see if something specific is causing the issue? Also, where exactly is your CLAUDE.md file located in your project?
This is driving me bonkers too! I've set a rule for Claude to speak in a Scottish accent, so I know when it's forgotten the rules, which is about 90% of the time. I spend way too much time reminding it of the guidelines, and honestly, not all of them are as silly as the accent rule!
Totally feel you on this! I ask it to write tests before coding, and it fails nearly every time. Complex prompts seem to cause it to overlook the defined instructions, especially on larger projects where context limitation becomes a problem. I’m stuck breaking my prompts down into smaller bits just to get it to work.
I hear you! When the prompts get complex, it's like it loses track of what I need, which is super annoying.