Homework: Your CLAUDE.md in Action

This is your assignment for the Memory System course.

The people who skip this homework go into their next project with an empty CLAUDE.md or no file at all. Then they spend the next ten sessions explaining the same things to Claude over and over, which is exactly the problem this course was designed to solve.

Do the homework now. It takes 20 minutes. You will feel the difference in the very next session you run.

Your assignment

Build a complete CLAUDE.md for your current or next project and test it in a live session.

Part 1: Set up your global CLAUDE.md (10 minutes)

This file applies to every project. Do it once and it works everywhere.

Step 1: Navigate to your .claude folder.

On Mac: /Users/yourname/.claude/

On Windows: C:\Users\yourname.claude\

Create a CLAUDE.md file inside that folder if it does not already exist.

Step 2: Write your global preferences. Cover at least these three things:

• Who you are and your skill level with code. For example: "I am not a developer. I build using Claude Code."
• Your general preferences. For example: "Always prefer simple solutions. Never add complexity I did not ask for."
• Your communication preferences. For example: "Explain what you are doing in plain language before you do it."
• Keep it under 30 lines. Honest and specific beats long and vague every time.

Part 2: Build your project CLAUDE.md (10 minutes)

Choose a project. Either the portfolio page from the Foundations course homework or a new project you are about to start.

In the project folder, create or update your CLAUDE.md with all six sections. Fill every section with real information. Do not leave placeholders.

About This Project: what you are building and who it is for.

What Is Already Built: what files or sections already exist.

Tech and Tools: what you are using and just as importantly what you are NOT using.

Preferences and Style: how you want things to look and how you want Claude to communicate with you.

How to Work With Me: when to ask, when to act, and how much autonomy Claude should take.

Boundaries: what Claude must never do without your explicit approval.

Part 3: Test it in a live session

Open Claude Code in your project folder and start a new session.

Without explaining your project, ask Claude to build or add one small thing. A new section, a styled button, or a heading works well for this test.

Notice whether Claude uses the right style without you describing it. Notice whether it matches your design direction without you explaining it. Notice whether it stays within the boundaries you set.

If yes, your CLAUDE.md is working.

If Claude asks questions you already answered in your CLAUDE.md, or does something you told it not to do, your file needs more specificity. Update it and test again.

Part 4: Post in the community

Go to the Claude Codex Mastery community feed and create a new post. Title it "Memory System Homework." Share one or two lines from your CLAUDE.md that you think will save you the most time. Write one sentence about what project you are going to build next.

That is it. You are done.

Bonus challenge (optional)

If you finish in under 15 minutes and want to push further, try one of these.

Prompt:

Use /agents to create a sub-agent that only handles one type of task in my project. I want a specialist for [design / content / review]. Generate the agent definition for me.

Test the cross-session memory by closing Claude Code completely, reopening it, starting a fresh session in your project, and asking Claude to describe what it knows about your project before you tell it anything. Its response should reflect your CLAUDE.md without any additional prompting from you.

Add a "lessons learned" section to your CLAUDE.md by documenting one thing that went wrong in a past project and adding a rule to prevent it from happening again.

You are ready for Track 2

Once your homework is posted, move directly to Track 2: Websites.

You now have Claude briefed and ready. Every session from here builds on top of that foundation. The quality of everything you build from this point forward is permanently higher because of the work you did in this course.

Track 2 is where you build the first thing you could show to the world.