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Ramu Narasinga
Ramu Narasinga

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CLAUDE.md in Inbox Zero codebase.

#opensource #claude #inboxzero #email

In this article, we review CLAUDE.md in Inbox Zero codebase. We will look at:

  1. What is CLAUDE.md?

  2. CLAUDE.md in Inbox Zero

  3. Best practices to define CLAUDE.md

What is CLAUDE.md?

CLAUDE.md is a special file that Claude automatically pulls into context when starting a conversation. This makes it an ideal place for documenting:

  • Common bash commands

  • Core files and utility functions

  • Code style guidelines

  • Testing instructions

  • Repository etiquette (e.g., branch naming, merge vs. rebase, etc.)

  • Developer environment setup (e.g., pyenv use, which compilers work)

  • Any unexpected behaviors or warnings particular to the project

  • Other information you want Claude to remember

There’s no required format for CLAUDE.md files. Anthropic recommenda keeping them concise and human-readable. For example:

# Bash commands
- npm run build: Build the project
- npm run typecheck: Run the typechecker

# Code style
- Use ES modules (import/export) syntax, not CommonJS (require)
- Destructure imports when possible (eg. import { foo } from 'bar')

# Workflow
- Be sure to typecheck when you’re done making a series of code changes
- Prefer running single tests, and not the whole test suite, for performance
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Learn more about CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md in Inbox Zero

I found the following sections in Inbox Zero:

  • Build & Test commands

  • Code Style

  • Component Guidelines

  • Environment Variables

  • Fullstack Workflow

  • Key Guidelines

You will want to read the Inbox Zero’s CLAUDE.md for a detailed description of these sections.

Nothing in this file is set in stone nor universally applicable; consider these suggestions as starting points. Anthropic encourages you to experiment and find what works best for you. This CLAUDE.md instructions are only applicable to Inbox Zero codebase.

Best practices to define CLAUDE.md

I went through the Anthropic Engineering/Claude Best Practices article. These stood out for me:

  1. Keep the instructions concise and human-readable

  2. You can place CLAUDE.md in several locations, this is useful in a monorepo codebase. You can define CLAUDE.md specific to a workspace.

  3. Tune your CLAUDE.md to improve its efficiency.

About me:

Hey, my name is Ramu Narasinga. I study codebase architecture in large open-source projects.

Email: ramu.narasinga@gmail.com

I spent 200+ hours analyzing Supabase, shadcn/ui, LobeChat. Found the patterns that separate AI slop from production code. Stop refactoring AI slop. Start with proven patterns. Check out production-grade projects at thinkthroo.com

References:

  1. https://www.getinboxzero.com/

  2. https://github.com/elie222/inbox-zero/blob/main/apps/web/CLAUDE.md

  3. https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/claude-code-best-practices

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