Global prompt for Claude Code (CLI)

For Claude Code CLI there are two mechanisms for cross-project preferences:

**1. `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`** – For instructions and context (equivalent to the claude.ai preferences in https://claude.ai/settings/general)

```markdown
# My Coding Standards

- Test Driven Development: Specs first
- Focus on relevant specs (request, feature, complex methods)
- No trivial boilerplate specs
- Indentation: 2 spaces
- Lean, human-readable code
- When unclear: ask one clarifying question
...
```

**2. `~/.claude/settings.json`** – For technical settings (permissions, tools, hooks)

```json
{
  "permissions": {
    "allowedTools": ["Read", "Write", "Bash(bundle exec rspec *)"]
  }
}
```

The `CLAUDE.md` is loaded at every session start and is the right place for your coding preferences. 
The `settings.json` is more for tool permissions and hooks.

**NOTE:** The settings in https://claude.ai/settings/general are only for the web chat and do not take effect in Claude Code nor in API calls.

alexanderpresber
January 6, 2026