7 Day AIS Challenge/ Screenshot of your CSV output

Learnt: Be aware of where you launch Claude, that determines which CLAUDE.md files it reads.

CLAUDE.md — a file with instructions/memory that Claude Code reads into context every session. Always uppercase, no leading dot.
.claude/ — a folder (the dot just makes it hidden, which doesn't block access) that holds config like settings.json, rules/, commands, and agents.

#AISChallenge

Hidden folders load fine

The leading dot in .claude/ is just a display convention — Claude Code reads ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md by design. That's your global, cross-project file and it loads in every session.

Which file wins when you have several

Claude Code starts in your current working directory (wherever you ran claude) and walks upward to /, loading every CLAUDE.md it passes. It does not descend into subfolders at launch. When files conflict, the more specific (deeper) one wins, and your global ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md sits at the lowest priority.

I.E. Desktop/Project example

Launch from ~/Desktop/Project/ → loads both the project file and the Desktop file, with the project file overriding on conflicts. This is the setup you want.
Launch from ~/Desktop/ → loads only the Desktop file; the project file loads later only if Claude reads files inside Project/.

Practical takeaways

Start Claude Code from your project root so the project CLAUDE.md reliably applies.
Put truly global instructions in ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md, not loose on the Desktop.
Run /memory in any session to see exactly which files loaded.