One of Claude Code's most powerful features is its ability to remember things about you and your projects across conversations. This means you don't have to repeat yourself every time you start a new session.

What this means for you

Claude gets better the more you use it. It learns your preferences, remembers where you left off, and adapts to how you work — like a smart assistant who takes notes.

Two Types of Memory

1. Instructions You Write (CLAUDE.md)

These are like a “how to work with me” document that Claude reads every time you start a session. You write them once, and Claude follows them every time. See the Configuration page for the full guide.

Examples of what you might put here:

• “I run a bakery called Sweet Spot in Portland, Oregon”
• “Always use plain English, no technical jargon”
• “My fiscal year starts in July”
• “I prefer bullet points over long paragraphs”

2. Things Claude Learns Automatically

As you work with Claude, it picks up on your preferences and saves them for future sessions. You don't have to do anything — it just notices patterns and remembers them.

Examples of what gets saved automatically:

• Your role and how you like to work
• Feedback you give (“don't do it that way”)
• Project details and decisions you've made
• Where important resources are located

Good to know

Your written instructions (CLAUDE.md) always take priority over what Claude learns automatically. If there's ever a conflict, your written instructions win.

Teaching Claude About You

Tell Claude to Remember Something

Just say it naturally:

> Remember that I prefer simple language over technical jargon > Remember that my business partner is named Sarah and she handles the finances > Remember that I always want costs in USD, not other currencies > Remember that our busiest season is October through December

Tell Claude to Forget Something

> Forget that -- we moved to a new address > That's outdated, we don't use that vendor anymore > Remove the memory about our old pricing

Check What Claude Remembers

/memory # See all saved memories

What this means for you

You don't need to re-explain your situation every conversation. Tell Claude once that you run a small business, and it'll remember that context going forward.

How Claude Stays Current

Memories can get outdated — you might change tools, move to a new address, or update your pricing. Claude handles this automatically:

• Checks before acting— Before using a memory, Claude verifies it's still accurate by looking at your current files and data.
• Current info wins— If Claude sees that something has changed since it last remembered, it trusts what it sees now and updates its memory.
• Self-corrects— You don't need to manually clean up old memories. Claude notices when things are stale and fixes them.

That said, if you notice Claude using outdated info, just say “that's outdated” or “forget that” and it will clean up immediately.

How Long Can Conversations Be?

Every conversation has a limit on how much information Claude can hold in its “working memory” at once. Think of it like a desk — there's only so much you can spread out before you need to tidy up.

What Happens When Your Conversation Gets Long

When the conversation gets very long, Claude automatically summarizes earlier parts to make room for new work. It's like taking notes on a meeting — you keep the key points and let go of the word-by-word details.

This happens automatically, but you can also trigger it yourself:

/compact # Summarize the conversation so far /compact We finished the budget. Moving to marketing next. # Summarize with a note

Tips for Long Work Sessions

• Break big projects into pieces— Instead of doing everything in one conversation, handle one topic at a time.
• Use /compact between topics— When you finish one task and start another, compact to free up space.
• Quick side questions — Use /btwfor unrelated questions so they don't clutter your main conversation.

/btw What's the current sales tax rate in Oregon?

Check How Much Space You've Used

/context # See how much conversation space is used /cost # See what this session has cost

Saving and Resuming Your Work

Every conversation with Claude Code is a “session.” You can name them, come back to them later, and pick up right where you left off.

Name Your Sessions

Give your sessions descriptive names so you can find them later:

claude -n "Q2 budget planning" # Name it when you start /resume # Pick an earlier conversation to return to

Come Back to a Previous Session

claude -c # Pick up where you just left off claude -r "Q2 budget planning" # Resume a specific session by name claude --resume # Browse all your past sessions

Save a Checkpoint

If you're in the middle of something and need to step away, save a checkpoint so Claude remembers exactly where you were:

/rewind # Roll back to an earlier point

What this means for you

You can work on a project Monday, close your computer, and pick up exactly where you left off on Wednesday. Name your sessions and you'll always be able to find them.

Real-World Examples

Freelance Designer

Memories Claude keeps:

• Client names and their brand colors
• Preferred file naming conventions
• Invoice template location
• Standard hourly rate

Small Business Owner

Memories Claude keeps:

• Business name, address, EIN
• Key employees and their roles
• Busy season vs slow season
• Preferred suppliers

Student

Memories Claude keeps:

• Current courses and professors
• Assignment formatting requirements
• Research topic and thesis direction
• Citation style preference (APA, MLA, etc.)

Tips

• Written instructions beat auto-memory— for anything truly important, write it in your CLAUDE.md file (see Configuration).
• Name your sessions— “Q2 budget” is much easier to find than “Session from Tuesday afternoon.”
• Use /compact between topics— keeps your conversations focused and responsive.
• Don't worry about cleanup— Claude automatically manages its own memories. Just correct it when something's wrong.
• Memory is private— your memories are stored locally on your computer. Nobody else can see them.