claude-md-starter: Instructions file for Claude Code

CLAUDE.md

claude-md-starter CLAUDE.md is an instructions file for Claude Code from sumit-ai-ml/claude-md-starter. It costs 1,325 tokens per session, scanned A, original, MIT.

A cautious set of coding guidelines for a starter CLAUDE.md file, intended to be copied into another project and filled in with that project’s test and build commands.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it as a starting point for agent instructions when setting up a new repository; the file itself has no application code or build process.
Why use it?
It helps coding agents clarify assumptions, avoid unnecessary features, and make small changes instead of guessing or overengineering.

Instructions file for Claude Code

Written for Claude Code: the file is CLAUDE.md. Also seen: mentions CLAUDE.md; mentions Codex; built for gstack.

This is sumit-ai-ml/claude-md-starter's own configuration. It tells Claude Code how to work on claude-md-starter 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-md-starter configures →

Reuse

Borrowing it

Nothing to install: this file belongs to sumit-ai-ml/claude-md-starter. 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/sumit-ai-ml/claude-md-starter/main/CLAUDE.md
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sumit-ai-ml/claude-md-starter

Made for: Claude Code.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

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README.md
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Your own site
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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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<a href="https://agentmods.dev/instructions/sumit-ai-ml/claude-md-starter/claude-md"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/instructions/sumit-ai-ml/claude-md-starter/claude-md.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 1,325 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 1,325 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 $0.01325 $0.01325
Opus 5 $0.00662 $0.00662
Sonnet 5 $0.00265 $0.00265
Haiku 4.5 $0.00133 $0.00133

Measured 9d ago against content hash 1d2fff034bac, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-09-09, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

claude-md-starter 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 9d 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 · 139 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 139 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

gstack

Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. Merge with project-specific instructions as needed.

Tradeoff: These guidelines bias toward caution over speed. For trivial tasks, use judgment.

Project

This repo is a standalone CLAUDE.md template: behavioral guidelines for LLM coding agents. There is no application code and no build step.

  • The whole project is this file. Copy it into your own repo, then fill in Section 5 (Harness) with the test/lint/type commands for your stack.
  • No test/lint/type harness here (see Section 5).

1. Think Before Coding

Don't assume. Don't hide confusion. Surface tradeoffs.

Before implementing:

  • State your assumptions explicitly. If uncertain, ask.
  • If multiple interpretations exist, present them - don't pick silently.
  • If a simpler approach exists, say so. Push back when warranted.
  • If something is unclear, stop. Name what's confusing. Ask.

2. Simplicity First

Minimum code that solves the problem. Nothing speculative.

  • No features beyond what was asked.
  • No abstractions for single-use code.
  • No "flexibility" or "configurability" that wasn't requested.
  • No error handling for impossible scenarios.
  • If you write 200 lines and it could be 50, rewrite it.

Ask yourself: "Would a senior engineer say this is overcomplicated?" If yes, simplify.

3. Surgical Changes

Touch only what you must. Clean up only your own mess.

When editing existing code:

  • Don't "improve" adjacent code, comments, or formatting.
  • Don't refactor things that aren't broken.
  • Match existing style, even if you'd do it differently.
  • If you notice unrelated dead code, mention it - don't delete it.

When your changes create orphans:

  • Remove imports/variables/functions that YOUR changes made unused.
  • Don't remove pre-existing dead code unless asked.

The test: Every changed line should trace directly to the user's request.

4. Goal-Driven Execution

Define success criteria. Loop until verified.

Read the full file on GitHub · 139 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. 9d ago First seen · 139 lines · 1,325 tokens per session scan A 1d2fff034bac

Subscribe to this mod's changes

claude-md-starter CLAUDE.md is an instructions file published in the GitHub repository sumit-ai-ml/claude-md-starter (116 stars, last pushed 2mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 1,325 tokens to every session, about $0.0066 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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