Making Claude Code remember your project
You explain your project to Claude Code on Monday. By Wednesday, you're explaining it again. Same app, same rules, same "don't touch the payment code" warning you've typed a dozen times. It feels like the AI has amnesia, because in a way, it does.
Why the AI forgets you
Claude Code doesn't keep a memory of your project the way you do. Each session starts with a limited amount of space for text, called a context window. Everything you've typed, every file it has read, and every reply it has given fills up that space.
When the space runs low, the tool does something called compaction. It shrinks or drops older parts of the conversation to make room for new work. That's not a bug. It's how these tools stay usable on long tasks. But it also means the details you gave it an hour ago can quietly disappear.
A brand new session has none of that history at all. It only knows what's in your files right now, plus whatever you type in that moment.
Give it a file it always reads
The fix isn't repeating yourself. It's writing things down once, in a file the AI checks automatically at the start of a session. Many tools look for a file like CLAUDE.md or a project README for this purpose.
This file should answer four questions:
- What the app is. One or two sentences. Who uses it, what it does.
- What not to touch. Fragile code, half-finished features, anything that broke before and got fixed a specific way.
- Decisions already made. If you chose a database, a login method, or a design approach, write it down so the AI doesn't suggest redoing it.
- How to run it. The exact commands to start the app, run tests, or check it's working.
Keep it short. A file the AI has to wade through is almost as bad as no file at all.
Write down why, not what
Your code already shows what the app does. What it can't show is why you made a choice. "We use email login only, no passwords, because our users kept forgetting passwords" tells the AI something the code alone never will.
When you catch yourself explaining a decision to Claude Code for the second time, that's your signal. Stop and add one line to your project file. Future sessions, and future you, will thank you.
When a fresh start is the right move
Not every memory loss is a problem. Sometimes starting a new session on purpose is the smart choice, not a workaround.
- You're switching to a completely different part of the app, like moving from the sign-up flow to the billing page.
- The current session has gone in circles, giving you the same wrong answer twice.
- You just finished a big feature and want the AI's next suggestions based on the code as it is now, not on the back-and-forth that got you there.
In those cases, a clean session with a good project file will often work better than trying to drag a tired, overloaded conversation along further.
What this saves you
| Without a project file | With a project file |
|---|---|
| Re-explain the app every session | AI reads it in seconds |
| Fragile code gets touched by accident | Off-limits areas are written down |
| Old decisions get reversed by mistake | Decisions are recorded once |
None of this requires special software. A plain text file in your project folder does the job. If you're using Plyo, every version of your project is saved automatically, so even if a session goes sideways, you can undo back to before it happened.
Plyo is the home for AI-built projects: every version saved, one click to undo, one click to publish, plus a safety check, visitor counts and backups. Free to start: 3 projects, no card needed.
Give your project a home