# CLAUDE.md Template (Complete Founder Version) > From NerdSmith Founder Track -- Module 0, Lesson 4: CLAUDE.md Setup > The full template with all 5 sections + optional advanced sections. > Copy, customize, save as CLAUDE.md in your project root. --- ## Instructions 1. Create `CLAUDE.md` in your project root folder 2. Copy everything between the START and END markers below 3. Fill in every `[bracketed item]` -- delete the "Example:" lines when done 4. Keep the total under 500 words (longer wastes context) 5. Review and update monthly as your project evolves --- ## --- START TEMPLATE --- Copy below this line --- ```markdown # Project: [Your Project Name] ## What This Project Is [1-2 sentences: What are you building? What industry? What stage? Who is the customer?] Example: I'm a non-technical founder building a B2B SaaS tool for remote teams (10-50 people). Product: Team collaboration platform combining messaging and task management. Stage: Pre-launch MVP, validating product-market fit. --- ## My Role - [Your role: Founder, PM, Operator, Solo creator, etc.] - [Your focus: Product strategy, customer research, marketing, ops, etc.] - [What you DON'T do: Code, design, DevOps, etc.] - [Experience level: New to this, 5 years in industry, domain expert, etc.] Example: - Founder & Product Lead - Focus: Product strategy, customer research, go-to-market - NOT a developer (don't write code, avoid technical jargon) - 8 years in B2B sales, new to product management --- ## How to Help Me [List your top 3-5 tasks -- the things you'll ask Claude to do most often] - [Task 1] - [Task 2] - [Task 3] - [Task 4] - [Task 5] Example: - Write product specs from rough feature ideas - Analyze customer interview transcripts for patterns - Generate marketing copy (landing pages, emails, social) - Prioritize features using RICE scoring - Create competitive positioning documents --- ## File Structure [Tell Claude where to find inputs and where to save outputs] - `specs/` -- [What lives here, e.g., Product requirement docs, feature specs] - `research/` -- [e.g., Customer interviews, survey data, market reports] - `analysis/` -- [Claude outputs go here -- insights, syntheses, reports] - `marketing/` -- [e.g., Landing page copy, email sequences, social posts] - `prompts/` -- [Your reusable prompt templates] --- ## Style Preferences [How Claude should communicate with you] - [Length preference: e.g., Keep outputs concise, 1-2 pages max for specs] - [Tone: e.g., Plain English, no technical jargon, no buzzwords] - [Reasoning: e.g., Show your reasoning, don't just give answers] - [Format: e.g., Use bullet points and headings, not long paragraphs] - [Honesty: e.g., Tell me when an idea is bad, don't just agree with everything] - [Examples: e.g., Include real-world examples where helpful] --- ## Common Workflows [Optional but powerful: describe your most frequent multi-step tasks] ### [Workflow 1 Name, e.g., Product Spec Generation] 1. [Step 1: e.g., Read my rough idea in specs/drafts/] 2. [Step 2: e.g., Ask me 3 clarifying questions] 3. [Step 3: e.g., Generate spec using the Problem/Solution/Features/Metrics format] 4. [Step 4: e.g., Save to specs/[feature-name]-spec.md] ### [Workflow 2 Name, e.g., Customer Insight Synthesis] 1. [Step 1: e.g., Read transcripts in research/interviews/] 2. [Step 2: e.g., Identify top 5 pain points ranked by frequency] 3. [Step 3: e.g., Include direct quotes as evidence] 4. [Step 4: e.g., Save to analysis/customer-insights-[date].md] --- ## Rules (Non-Negotiable) [Things Claude must ALWAYS or NEVER do in this project] - [Rule 1: e.g., Never fabricate data -- use [UNKNOWN] for anything uncertain] - [Rule 2: e.g., Always save outputs to the analysis/ folder, never overwrite existing files] - [Rule 3: e.g., Ask before making changes to any file in specs/ (these are reviewed docs)] ``` ## --- END TEMPLATE --- Stop copying here --- --- ## Section-by-Section Quality Check After filling in the template, verify: | Section | Check | Pass? | |---------|-------|-------| | **Project Context** | Includes what you're building, stage, and target customer | [ ] | | **My Role** | Says what you do AND what you don't do | [ ] | | **How to Help** | Lists 3-5 specific, actionable tasks | [ ] | | **File Structure** | Every folder has a purpose, output folder identified | [ ] | | **Style Preferences** | Includes length, tone, format, and honesty rules | [ ] | | **Common Workflows** (optional) | Multi-step processes Claude can follow automatically | [ ] | | **Rules** (optional) | Hard boundaries Claude must respect | [ ] | | **Word count** | Under 500 words total | [ ] | --- ## Testing Your CLAUDE.md After saving, open Claude Code and try these three tests: **Test 1 -- Context awareness:** ``` What do you know about this project and my role? ``` Claude should summarize your project without you explaining anything. **Test 2 -- Style compliance:** ``` Write a 100-word summary of a hypothetical product feature. ``` Check: Does it match your tone, length, and jargon preferences? **Test 3 -- File awareness:** ``` Where should you save a customer research report? ``` Claude should point to the correct folder from your File Structure section. --- ## When to Update | Trigger | What to Change | |---------|---------------| | You've shifted to a new project stage (MVP to growth) | Update "What This Project Is" | | You've discovered a new common task | Add it to "How to Help Me" | | Claude keeps making the same mistake | Add a rule to "Rules" section | | You've restructured folders | Update "File Structure" | | It's been 30+ days since last edit | Review everything | --- *NerdSmith Founder Track -- Module 0: Claude Code Bootcamp* *Download: CLAUDE.md Template (Complete Founder Version)*