Path-specific rules in .claude/rules

What the exam expects

• Create a .claude/rules/ file with YAML paths frontmatter (for example paths: ["terraform/**/*"]) so its conventions load only when Claude works with matching files.
• Write glob patterns that match files by type in any directory, such as **/*.test.tsx, and spot patterns that match too little.
• Choose a path-scoped rule over a subdirectory CLAUDE.md when conventions apply to files spread across the codebase, and the reverse when one team owns one directory.
• Diagnose rules that load everywhere or never, including after compaction and through symlinks.

Key terms: path-scoped rule (a rule file whose paths frontmatter limits when it loads); glob (a pattern such as src/**/*.ts, where ** spans any depth); base directory (the folder a rule's patterns are relative to); unconditional rule (a rule without paths, loaded at launch); lazy load (loading triggered by a file access during the session).

Key facts

Check yourself