# Prune your CLAUDE.md with one question

Status: DRAFT, nothing posted. Single-image infographic, 2 slide(s), no cover. Idea IB-0289.

## What it shows

The pruning test from the 9 October instructions review: cut any line whose removal would not cause a mistake, move must-happen rules to hooks, and scope rules to file paths.

No numbers appear on the slides unless listed below.

## Claims and sources

| Claim | Source (agency-operator unless stated) | Read-date |
|---|---|---|
| Keep each CLAUDE.md under about 200 lines; cut any line where removing it would not cause a mistake | `docs/instructions-review-2026-10-09.md` (Why, citing Anthropic memory docs read 2026-10-09) | 2026-10-11 |
| Use hooks, not instructions, for anything that must happen every time | `docs/instructions-review-2026-10-09.md` (Why) | 2026-10-11 |
| Rules can carry paths frontmatter so they load only when matching files are read or edited | `docs/instructions-review-2026-10-09.md` (Why, and the Bash caveat) | 2026-10-11 |
| A rule you have to remember will fail; a rule that fires on the event will not | IB-0289 / IB-0283 hook line, same doc | 2026-10-11 |