If Your CLAUDE.md Is Longer Than Your README, Your Agent Gets Harder to Steer
Arindam_1729 · x · 2026-10-27
The author argues that an oversized CLAUDE.md makes agents harder to steer over time, and recommends a "second brain" pattern:
- Keep CLAUDE.md short and focused
- Store the reasoning behind each rule in an Obsidian vault
- Let Claude retrieve relevant notes on demand instead of carrying every instruction in its prompt
- Remove stale rules without losing their context
Reported result: up to 23.1% better instruction-following on real tasks.
The thread also announces OpenDuet, an MIT-licensed port of Claude Duet to open models, built with Mastra, Nebius and Composio: it delivers morning briefs, monitors your apps while away, pings only when needed, and gates anything that sends/posts/pays behind human approval. Each bot gets its own model and an editable MEMORY.md.
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