Runbook 02 of 06 · Setup · 12 min

Give Claude a brief it will keep reading.

Outcome

A file called CLAUDE.md in your folder. Claude reads it every time it starts, so it stops asking the same questions.

Write one paragraph about the thing.

In your notes app, not in Claude. What it is, who it is for, and the one thing it must do. Plain words. If you cannot write the paragraph, the runbook ends here, and that is useful to know.

CheckA paragraph of four to six sentences you could read aloud to a friend.

Ask Claude to turn it into a brief.

Replace the bracket with your paragraph. The last sentence matters: it makes Claude ask before it guesses.

Prompt · paste into Claude

Here is what I want to build: [your paragraph]

Write a file called CLAUDE.md for this folder with four short sections: what this is, who it is for, what “done” looks like, and three rules you will follow while working here. Ask me up to three questions first if anything is unclear.

CheckClaude asks you something, or says it has enough and shows the file. Answer in plain words.

Accept the file.

Claude asks permission before it writes anything. Read what it wrote. If a line is wrong, say so in one sentence and it will fix that line. Then say yes.

In a second terminal tab · optional

ls ~/first-build

CheckCLAUDE.md is listed in the folder.

Prove it reads the brief.

Type /exit, then start claude again. A fresh start is the only honest test.

Prompt · paste into Claude

In two lines: what are we building here, and what does done look like?

CheckThe answer matches your paragraph without you pasting it again. The brief is working.