Context and Steering

Last week you got the agent to do things. This week you'll get it to do them your way — by giving it a profile.

The profile is a file called CLAUDE.md in your folder. The agent reads it every time, so you set your rules once instead of repeating them.

Pick one exercise below. Each is 3 steps, about 30 minutes, no code.

Before you start

Make a new folder on your Desktop for the exercise. In VS Code: File → Open Folder, and open it. This is your workspace — everything goes in here.

Exercise 1 — Tidy notes you can trust (start with this)

Turn messy meeting notes into a clear summary — and stop the agent making things up.

Set up: make a file called raw-notes.md and paste in these notes:

fete mtg — 12 June, village hall, 7pm

- agreed the date: Sat 6 Sept, 11–4. everyone happy with that
- Priya to sort the insurance — she'll ring the council this week
- need someone to organise the stalls... maybe Tom? not sure he's got the time tbh
- Dave moaned about the bouncy castle last year — too pricey, bit of a nightmare
- POSTERS: Sarah offered to design them. printing not sorted yet
- raffle came up again — lots of enthusiasm in the room, didn't really land on anything
- car parking: someone needs to ask the farmer about using the bottom field
- food — hog roast again? Priya reckons yes but wants to check the budget first
- next meeting early July sometime

1 — Cold

Ask:

turn raw-notes.md into a tidy summary of decisions and actions

Looks great. Now check it against the notes — any concerns?

2 — Add a profile

Ask Claude to make a file called CLAUDE.md, with a process and some rules:

make a CLAUDE.md so every summary has three parts:
decisions, actions (owner — task — due), and needs follow-up.
rules: never invent an owner or a date, only list things that were
actually agreed, and ask me if you're unsure.

3 — Again

Same request as step 1. This time it's more constrained and won't guess / make things up. This is how you can steer an agent to work the way you want.

Stretch — explore & iterate

Feed it your own messy notes.
Tighten a rule, re-run, see the change.
Break a rule on purpose to watch it slip — then put it back.

What do you need to do to get Claude Code to re-read the updated claude.md file?

Exercise 2 — Reply to enquiries in your voice (follow on)

Get the agent to draft customer replies the way you'd write them.

Set up: make a file called sample-enquiry.md and paste in this email:

From: jo.taylor@example.com
Subject: Garden help?

Hi,

Do you do regular garden maintenance? We've got a medium-sized garden in Harbury that's
got a bit out of hand over the spring — lawn, some overgrown borders, and a hedge that
badly needs a trim. Roughly what would it cost, and could someone come fairly soon?

Thanks,
Jo

1 — Cold

Ask:

reply to the enquiry in sample-enquiry.md

It's fine, but generic — too long, a bit corporate, and it might make things up.

2 — Add a profile

Ask Claude to make a file called CLAUDE.md, but this time with Claude asking you what you want:

ask me 5 quick questions about how I want these replies — tone, length,
what to always include, what to never do. then save it as CLAUDE.md

Answer in plain words. Open CLAUDE.md and fix anything that's off.

3 — Again

Same request as step 1:

reply to that enquiry again

Now it follows your profile — shorter, warmer, no made-up price — and you didn't repeat yourself. That's the whole point.

Stretch — explore & iterate

Find one thing still not right. Don't re-ask — fix the profile:

replies are too long. update CLAUDE.md to keep them under 120 words

Try a few rounds. Each fix sticks for next time.

Stuck or curious? Ask your neighbour first — that's half the point.