Claude Code

Shrink a Bloated CLAUDE.md So It Stops Eating Your Claude Limit

Your CLAUDE.md loads into every session, even for unrelated work. How to see what it costs, move the rarely used steps into skills, and keep the file under 200 lines

Alex ChenAlex Chen@nocodealex · 45,000+ follow on Instagram
2min read
1prompts to copy
6numbered steps
5sections

Claude Code reads your CLAUDE.md at the start of every session. A long one rides along even when you are doing something unrelated, and the docs say longer files use more context and get followed less.

Here's how to see it, split it, and keep it short.

Step 1: see what is taking space

  1. In Claude Code, type /context. It shows what is using your context window.
  2. Count your CLAUDE.md lines: ask Claude "how many lines is my CLAUDE.md?"
  3. The docs' target is under 200 lines per file.

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