Tell Claude to update CLAUDE.md after every mistake

The problem

You keep correcting the same style, architecture, or testing mistake across sessions, and nothing sticks.

The hack

After a correction, append: “Update CLAUDE.md so you don’t repeat this.” Let Claude distill the failure into a durable project rule.

Why it works

CLAUDE.md loads every session. Rules written from real failures compound into project-specific memory faster than hand-authored style guides.

Setup

1. Correct Claude when it ships the wrong pattern. 2. Add: `Update CLAUDE.md so you don't repeat this.` 3. Review the diff it proposes—keep rules short and specific. 4. Commit CLAUDE.md so the whole team inherits the fix.

Prompt

That approach is wrong for this repo—prefer X over Y. Update CLAUDE.md so you don't repeat this.

Additional details

Source

Related

• → Keep CLAUDE.md under 200 lines so rules actually stick
• → Bootstrap with /init, then ruthlessly prune the draft