claude-memory-bank: Instructions file for Claude Code

CLAUDE.md

claude-memory-bank CLAUDE.md is an instructions file for Claude Code from russbeye/claude-memory-bank. It costs 849 tokens per session, scanned A, original, MIT.

Project instructions for Claude Code that define how to use a memory bank: a set of focused files containing project decisions, patterns, and architecture details. They also set rules for loading only relevant context and protecting certain files from commits.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use them to guide day-to-day Claude Code work, find relevant project context, follow the required reading order, limit unnecessary file changes, and verify results.
Why use it?
They reduce repeated explanations and help keep the coding agent aligned with the project's established knowledge and working rules.

Instructions file for Claude Code

Written for Claude Code: the file is CLAUDE.md. Also seen: mentions CLAUDE.md; mentions Claude Code; mentions Gemini CLI.

This is russbeye/claude-memory-bank's own configuration. It tells Claude Code how to work on claude-memory-bank itself, so it is not a mod to install elsewhere. Copy it as a starting point and replace the rules that are about this project. Everything claude-memory-bank configures →

Reuse

Borrowing it

Nothing to install: this file belongs to russbeye/claude-memory-bank. Take a copy, put it at the same path in your own repository, and replace the rules that are about this project with yours.

Copy the file
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/russbeye/claude-memory-bank/master/CLAUDE.md
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/russbeye/claude-memory-bank

Made for: Claude Code.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

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README.md
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Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.

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Per session 849 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 849 The same file — it is already loaded in full.
Security scan A 0 findings. A grade says what 26 rules found in the file — not that it is safe.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5.1 $0.00849 $0.00849
Opus 5 $0.00425 $0.00425
Sonnet 5 $0.00170 $0.00170
Haiku 4.5 $0.00085 $0.00085

Measured 10d ago against content hash f2ac0256e8a8, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-09-10, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

claude-memory-bank CLAUDE.md scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 10d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

CLAUDE.md · 81 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 81 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

CLAUDE.md

Project Overview

  • This CLAUDE.md defines global guidance for Claude Code.
  • It standardizes how to manage and query the context memory-bank, ensuring lean tokens and safe archive use.

AI Guidance

  • Ignore GEMINI.md and GEMINI-*.md files
  • Keep tokens lean: use granular memory, scoped queries, minimal loads.
  • Context order: memory bank → code-searcher → archive (read-only, last resort).
  • Run tools in parallel when possible.
  • NEVER create files unless explicitly asked; ALWAYS edit existing ones.
  • Do not create docs/READMEs unless explicitly requested.
  • Do what’s requested—nothing more, nothing less.
  • Verify results before finishing.
  • Exclude .claude/memory_bank from commits.

Memory Bank System

This project uses a structured memory bank system with specialized context files. Always check these files for relevant information before starting work.

Granular Files (authoritative for day-to-day work)

  • .claude/memory_bank/decisions/** — ADRs and trade-offs for specific modules/features
  • .claude/memory_bank/patterns/** — Cross-cutting patterns and conventions
  • .claude/memory_bank/architecture/** — Module/service/component topology and notes
  • .claude/memory_bank/troubleshooting/** — Common issues and proven solutions
  • .claude/memory_bank/stash/** — Temporary scratch pad (only read when referenced)

Use /context-query with path scopes (and small --limit) to pull only the sections relevant to your task.

Memory Bank System Backups

When asked to back up Memory Bank System files, copy the granular memory bank directories (.claude/memory_bank/{decisions,patterns,architecture,troubleshooting}/) and the @.claude settings directory to @.claude/memory_backup.
If files already exist in the backup directory, overwrite them.
Exclude .claude/memory_bank/archive/** from backups unless the User explicitly requests historical snapshots.

Archive Directory

Historic documentation is stored under .claude/memory_bank/archive/ to optimize memory bank size while preserving implementation history.
Each snapshot is dated and includes claude-architecture-complete.md plus a CHANGELOG.md.
Treat the archive as read-only and do not load it for routine tasks; prefer granular files. See archive/README.md (if present) within the archive folder for an index.

Read the full file on GitHub · 81 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 10d ago First seen · 81 lines · 849 tokens per session scan A f2ac0256e8a8

Subscribe to this mod's changes

claude-memory-bank CLAUDE.md is an instructions file published in the GitHub repository russbeye/claude-memory-bank (19 stars, last pushed 11mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 849 tokens to every session, about $0.0042 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.

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