The article explains what CLAUDE.md is, why it’s essential for Claude Code, how over‑filling it harms token efficiency, the principles of writing effective, verifiable rules, modular organization with path‑scoped files, and practical commands (/init, /memory) plus a ready‑to‑use template.
Understanding the .claude directory—its project‑level and global subfolders, the roles of CLAUDE.md, rules, commands, skills, agents, and settings.json—lets you turn Claude Code from a black‑box chat tool into a configurable, team‑aligned coding partner that respects permissions and workflow conventions.
This guide explains the full structure and purpose of the .claude directory, covering project‑level and global configurations, the essential CLAUDE.md file, custom commands, modular rules, reusable skills, specialized agents, and the settings.json permission model, plus a step‑by‑step onboarding workflow.
This step‑by‑step tutorial shows how to integrate domestic LLM providers (GLM‑5, GLM‑4.7, GLM‑Flash, Kimi K2.5, DeepSeek, Qwen3‑Coder‑Next, BGE‑M3) into OpenClaw, define model routing, create dedicated controller, writer and coder agents, and run a complete multi‑agent workflow.
