Documentation Type

Missing documentation (feature not documented)

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory

Section/Topic

Choose where to put CLAUDE.md files

Current Documentation

The official documentation table at https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory shows:

Row 2 → Project Instructions (./CLAUDE.md) Row 3 → User Instructions (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md)

What's Wrong or Missing?

This order contradicts the documentation's own rule: "More specific locations take precedence over broader ones"

User Instructions apply to ALL projects → less specific Project Instructions apply to ONE project → more specific

Suggested Improvement

Therefore the correct order from broadest to most specific should be:

Row 1 → Managed Policy (all users, all projects) Row 2 → User Instructions (all your projects) Row 3 → Project Instructions (this project only) Row 4 → Local Instructions (this project, just you)

Impact

High - Prevents users from using a feature

Additional Context

1. Set up Managed Policy: C:\Program Files\ClaudeCode\CLAUDE.md → Save the Python file name as <filename>_claude_1.py

2. Set up User Instructions: C:\Users<username>.claude\CLAUDE.md → Save the Python file name as <filename>_claude_2.py

3. Set up Project Instructions: <project>\CLAUDE.md → Save the Python file name as <filename>_claude_A.py

4. Run prompt: Create a bare Department class with just a pass statement.

5. Result: department_claude_A.py created

Claude Code's own explanation: "Creating a bare Department class and saving it per the project instructions."

This confirms Project Instructions takes precedence over User Instructions — opposite to the table order shown in the documentation.