CLAUDE.md Templates

CLAUDE.md is your AI's instruction manual for your business. Every time you start a Claude Code session, it reads this file before doing anything else. The instructions inside it shape every response Claude gives -- what language it uses, where it saves files, how it handles client documents, what it should never do without asking you first.

Getting this file right is the single highest-leverage configuration step in the whole system. A well-written CLAUDE.md means Claude behaves consistently, without you repeating yourself. A vague one means constant correction. The three templates below progress from a minimal starting point to a fully configured workspace. Choose based on where you are, not where you want to be.

How to choose a template

• Minimal Starter -- You are new to Claude Code and want to get started quickly. Fill in the blanks and come back to expand it later.
• Solo Worker Full -- You are setting up a workspace you will use daily. This is the right default for most individuals running a small business or solo practice.
• Client Workspace -- You are setting up a dedicated workspace for one client engagement, separate from your own business files.

Template 1: Minimal Starter

# CLAUDE.md

## Workspace
[Your name or project name]

## Primary Role
You are a personal assistant helping me with [describe your work].

## File Organisation
- Documentation: Documentation/
- Scripts: Scripts/
- Project work: Projects/

Field guide

Workspace: Your name or the name of this body of work. If this workspace is for your whole business, use your name. If it is for a single project, use the project name. This is how Claude identifies where it is if you have multiple workspaces.

Primary Role: Tell Claude what it is helping with in plain English. Be specific. "Helping me with my work" is too vague. Examples: "helping me run a freelance copywriting practice serving e-commerce brands", "assisting with research and writing for my consultancy", "managing client communications and document production for my accounting practice".

File Organisation: Tell Claude where to save things. If it does not know where files belong, it may create them anywhere -- or ask you every time. These three locations cover most solo workflows. Add more if your work has distinct categories (e.g., "Client work: Clients/[ClientName]/").

Template 2: Solo Worker Full

# CLAUDE.md

## Workspace Identity
- Name: [Workspace Name]
- Type: personal
- GitHub: [username/repo]

## Primary Role
[Your name] -- [your role and what kind of work you do]

## Accessible Folders
Full access to ~/[workspace-folder]/
Also access ~/Documents/ and ~/Downloads/

## File Organisation
- Documentation: Documentation/
- Project work: Claude Projects/[P###-Name]/
- Scripts: Scripts/
- Archive: Documentation/Archive/

## Core Principles
- UK English only
- Never send client-facing documents without my approval
- Always check for duplicate projects before creating a new one

## Rules
Additional rules auto-loaded from .claude/rules/

Field guide

Workspace Identity: Three fields that tell Claude exactly which workspace it is operating in. Name is human-readable. Type is "personal" for your own business, "client" for a dedicated client workspace. GitHub is your remote repository address -- this is used to verify that git pushes go to the right place. If you have not set up GitHub yet, leave this as a placeholder and fill it in later.

Accessible Folders: List every folder Claude is allowed to navigate. Claude Code can access your entire file system by default, but explicitly listing paths in CLAUDE.md means Claude knows where to look without asking. For a solo worker, your workspace folder plus Documents and Downloads covers typical daily needs.

Core Principles: Short, non-negotiable rules that apply in every session. Keep this list to 5 items or fewer -- things Claude must always or never do. Longer behavioural guidelines belong in .claude/rules/ files (separate instruction files that Claude loads automatically). Examples for different business types:

• Marketing agency: "Always apply our brand voice guidelines from Documentation/brand-voice.md before writing any client-facing content"
• Accountancy practice: "Never share or include financial figures from one client in any document for another client"
• Coaching practice: "All client session notes are confidential -- never include them in any public-facing content"

Rules (auto-loaded): This line tells Claude to look in .claude/rules/ for additional instruction files. You do not need to list the individual files -- Claude loads all of them. Move detailed behavioural conventions (tone, formatting, citation style, blocked commands) into rules files to keep CLAUDE.md readable.

Template 3: Client Workspace

# CLAUDE.md -- [Client Name]

## Workspace Identity
- Name: [Client Name]
- Type: client
- GitHub: [org/repo]

## CLIENT WORKSPACE -- [CLIENT NAME]
Display this banner at the start of every session.

## Scope
[One or two sentences describing the engagement -- what you are helping this client with]

## Accessible Folders
This workspace directory only. No access to other client files or personal folders.

## File Organisation
- Client documents: Documents/
- Meeting notes: Meetings/
- Deliverables: Deliverables/

## Do Not
- Access any folder outside this workspace
- Include information from other clients in any output
- Send anything to the client without explicit approval

Field guide

CLIENT WORKSPACE banner: This instruction tells Claude to display the client name visibly at the start of every session. Its purpose is safety: when you have multiple client workspaces, the banner makes it obvious which client context you are working in before any work begins. This prevents a common mistake -- writing something in a client's workspace that was meant for a different client.

Scope: A brief description of the engagement, written for Claude rather than for the client. For example: "This workspace supports the website content rewrite project for Acme Ltd. Primary outputs are revised page copy, blog articles, and email sequences." Claude uses this to understand what kind of requests are relevant and what is out of scope.

Accessible Folders / Do Not: Client workspaces should be strictly bounded. Explicitly limiting folder access and listing prohibited actions prevents accidental cross-contamination between clients. These are safety rails, not bureaucracy.

Worked example: marketing agency

If you run a marketing agency with three to five active clients, your own workspace CLAUDE.md might look like this:

# CLAUDE.md

## Workspace Identity
- Name: Bright Signal Marketing
- Type: personal
- GitHub: brightsignal/agency-os

## Primary Role
You are the agency assistant for Bright Signal Marketing. We produce
content strategy, copywriting, and social media for SMB clients.

## Accessible Folders
Full access to ~/agency-os/
Also ~/Documents/ for reference material

## File Organisation
- Client projects: Claude Projects/[P###-ClientName-ProjectType]/
- Templates: Documentation/Templates/
- Briefs: Documentation/Briefs/
- Archive: Documentation/Archive/

## Core Principles
- All client copy must match the brand voice in their project CLAUDE.md
- Never publish or send anything without review checkpoint
- All new projects get a CLAUDE.md at creation

## Rules
Additional rules auto-loaded from .claude/rules/