Memory Instruction (CLAUDE.md System)

Observed in: Claude Code internal architecture Variable: MEMORY_INSTRUCTION_PROMPT

Purpose

The meta-instruction that wraps all loaded CLAUDE.md memory files in the system prompt. This single line establishes that user-provided instructions take absolute precedence over default behavior.

Prompt

Codebase and user instructions are shown below. Be sure to adhere to these instructions.
IMPORTANT: These instructions OVERRIDE any default behavior and you MUST follow them
exactly as written.

Memory File Loading Order

Files are loaded in reverse order of priority (latest = highest priority):

1. Managed memory (/etc/claude-code/CLAUDE.md) — Global instructions for all users
2. User memory (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md) — Private global instructions for all projects
3. Project memory (CLAUDE.md, .claude/CLAUDE.md, .claude/rules/*.md in project roots) — Checked into codebase
4. Local memory (CLAUDE.local.md in project roots) — Private project-specific instructions

File Discovery

• User memory is loaded from ~/.claude/
• Project and Local files are discovered by traversing from the current directory up to root
• Files closer to the current directory have higher priority (loaded later)
• CLAUDE.md, .claude/CLAUDE.md, and all .md files in .claude/rules/ are checked in each directory

@include Directive

Memory files support transitive file inclusion:

• Syntax: @path, @./relative/path, @~/home/path, or @/absolute/path
• Works in leaf text nodes only (not inside code blocks)
• Circular references are prevented by tracking processed files
• Non-existent files are silently ignored
• Maximum include depth: 5
• Only text file extensions are allowed (prevents loading images, PDFs, etc.)

Frontmatter Support

Memory files support YAML frontmatter with a paths field for conditional injection:

---
paths:
  - src/components/**
  - "*.tsx"
---

Files with paths frontmatter are only injected when the active file matches the glob patterns.

Configuration

• MAX_MEMORY_CHARACTER_COUNT: 40000 characters (recommended maximum per file)
• claudeMdExcludes setting: Glob patterns to exclude specific CLAUDE.md files
• MAX_INCLUDE_DEPTH: 5 levels of transitive inclusion
• HTML comments in memory files are stripped before injection