Separate Shared Instructions From Local Context

Your team needs the test command and branch convention. It does not need your scratch-directory preference in its shared instructions. Put each fact where its owner can maintain it.

Keep project-wide instructions in versioned CLAUDE.md. The memory documentation describes personal project instructions and @ imports. Check what your installed version loads, and verify that any file you intend to keep local is actually ignored by Git.

An import loads referenced material; it is not merely a cheap pointer that leaves the text outside context. Keep the loaded material relevant and use on-demand skills for work that only some tasks need.

Never put credentials in instruction files. Git exclusion does not make a file inaccessible to the agent. Use /context to inspect what loaded, then test whether the instructions improve the specific behavior you care about.