What Works and What Doesn't in CLAUDE.md

Effective CLAUDE.md files avoid subjective adjectives like clean or appropriate, as these cannot be objectively verified or judged. Instead of treating the file as a comprehensive README, developers should keep it concise to prevent critical rules from being ignored. One iOS team reduced their file from 400 to 60 lines, resulting in fewer rule violations. This demonstrates that brevity and objective instructions are essential for maintaining model attention and ensuring consistent code quality.