▶ How the CLAUDE.md chain loads

Module 01 walkthrough · ~2 minutes · three parts: what loads, what waits, and the on demand moment

This machine

enterprise /Library/…/ClaudeCode/CLAUDE.md

user ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

Project repo

team contract CLAUDE.md

imported docs/style.md

waitingsubtree api/CLAUDE.md

waitingskills .claude/skills/*

System prompt Claude Code's own manual

Enterprise CLAUDE.md IT policy

~/.claude/CLAUDE.md yours, follows you everywhere

repo CLAUDE.md the team contract

@docs/style.md stapled to the root file

api/CLAUDE.md loaded on demand

Module 01 · Walkthrough

How the CLAUDE.md chain loads

What Claude actually reads when a session starts. Three parts:

1 · What loads at startup 2 · What waits 3 · The on demand moment

Lean root · lazy subtrees · enforced walls

That's context engineering.

Part 1 · What loads at startup Part 2 · What waits Part 3 · On demand