Tired of re-explaining project standards or copy-pasting documentation links to your AI coding assistant? I’ve been exploring Claude Code’s customization layers, and they offer a powerful progression from simple prompts to a fully automated development partner.

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1️⃣ The Project Constitution: CLAUDE.md

This file provides persistent, project-wide instructions loaded at the start of every session.

• What it's for: Always-on rules. "Always use pnpm," "Commit messages must follow Conventional Commits," "Our primary state management is Zustand."

• Limitation: In long sessions, its core instructions can get buried under newer context, leading to "context drift."

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2️⃣ The Quick Shortcut: Slash Commands

Simple, manually-invoked prompts (e.g., /review-pr <PR_NUMBER>) that automate repetitive tasks.

• What it's for: Predictable, explicit workflows. A /create-component command that scaffolds a file with your company's boilerplate.

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3️⃣ The Specialist Researcher: Subagents

Specialized AI instances with isolated context windows that you delegate complex, self-contained tasks to.

• What it's for: Heavy research that would otherwise clutter your main chat. "Go read these 10 files and summarize the authentication flow."

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4️⃣ The Integrated Expert: Skills

Auto-discovered, structured capabilities that run within your main conversation, allowing for rich, iterative workflows.

• What it's for: Creating complex, reusable tools that feel native to Claude. A "database-migrator" skill that can inspect schema, generate migration scripts, and apply them.

By understanding these layers, you can build an AI assistant that not only responds to prompts but actively participates in your development process.

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