# CLAUDE.md

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.

## 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.**

Transform tasks into verifiable goals:

-   "Add validation" → "Write tests for invalid inputs, then make them pass"
-   "Fix the bug" → "Write a test that reproduces it, then make it pass"
-   "Refactor X" → "Ensure tests pass before and after"

For multi-step tasks, state a brief plan:

```
1. [Step] → verify: [check]
2. [Step] → verify: [check]
3. [Step] → verify: [check]
```

Strong success criteria let you loop independently. Weak criteria ("make it work") require constant clarification.

---

**These guidelines are working if:** fewer unnecessary changes in diffs, fewer rewrites due to overcomplication, and clarifying questions come before implementation rather than after mistakes.

## 5. Graphify

This project has a graphify knowledge graph at graphify-out/.

Rules:

-   Before answering architecture or codebase questions, read graphify-out/GRAPH_REPORT.md for god nodes and community structure
-   If graphify-out/wiki/index.md exists, navigate it instead of reading raw files
-   For cross-module "how does X relate to Y" questions, prefer `graphify query "<question>"`, `graphify path "<A>" "<B>"`, or `graphify explain "<concept>"` over grep — these traverse the graph's EXTRACTED + INFERRED edges instead of scanning files
-   After modifying code files in this session, run `graphify update .` to keep the graph current (AST-only, no API cost)
