name: mem-editing description: Instructions to be used as soon as any instruction, CLAUDE.md, command, skill or agent file needs to be changed. argument-hint: [files or description]

Instruction Editing Guidelines

Guidelines for editing Claude Code instruction files (CLAUDE.md, commands, skills, agents, docs). Load supporting files as needed for the specific component type being edited.

File Locations

All my personal instruction files live in ~/dotfiles/home-manager/modules/claude/:

• CLAUDE.md, commands/, skills/, agents/, docs/
• ~/.claude/ paths are symlinks to this location — always edit at the dotfiles source

When to Use

Any time instruction files are created or modified: optimization, bug fixes, adding rules, refactoring, new commands/skills/agents.

Editing Principles

• Preserve all salient information - never silently drop content
• Check for redundancy and conflicts across files before editing
• Apply principles from supporting docs below (match the component type)
• Consider surrounding style: load neighboring commands/skills/agents to match patterns
• Use AskUserQuestion for ambiguities

What to Check

• Ambiguity - what could a fresh agent misinterpret?
• Cross-file conflicts - do related files have contradicting rules?
• Redundancy - is this duplicated elsewhere?
• Missing context - does this assume knowledge not provided?

Supporting Files

• @~/.claude/skills/mem-editing/references/core.md: Core principles (self-verification, minimal info, writing style)
• @~/.claude/skills/mem-editing/references/skills.md: Skill structure, naming, progressive disclosure, description guidelines
• @~/.claude/skills/mem-editing/references/commands.md: Slash command structure and optimization workflow
• @~/.claude/skills/mem-editing/references/instructions.md: CLAUDE.md, memory files, structured prompting
• @~/.claude/skills/mem-editing/references/agents.md: Agent structure and patterns