home / skills / ykdojo / claude-code-tips / review-claudemd
This skill reviews CLAUDE.md guidelines from global and local files against recent conversations to identify improvements.
npx playbooks add skill ykdojo/claude-code-tips --skill review-claudemdReview the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.
---
name: review-claudemd
description: Review recent conversations to find improvements for CLAUDE.md files.
---
# Review CLAUDE.md from conversation history
Analyze recent conversations to improve both global (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md) and local (project) CLAUDE.md files.
## Step 1: Find conversation history
The project's conversation history is in `~/.claude/projects/`. The folder name is the project path with slashes replaced by dashes.
```bash
# Find the project folder (replace / with -)
PROJECT_PATH=$(pwd | sed 's|/|-|g' | sed 's|^-||')
CONVO_DIR=~/.claude/projects/-${PROJECT_PATH}
ls -lt "$CONVO_DIR"/*.jsonl | head -20
```
## Step 2: Extract recent conversations
Extract the 15-20 most recent conversations (excluding the current one) to a temp directory:
```bash
SCRATCH=/tmp/claudemd-review-$(date +%s)
mkdir -p "$SCRATCH"
for f in $(ls -t "$CONVO_DIR"/*.jsonl | head -20); do
basename=$(basename "$f" .jsonl)
# Skip current conversation if known
cat "$f" | jq -r '
if .type == "user" then
"USER: " + (.message.content // "")
elif .type == "assistant" then
"ASSISTANT: " + ((.message.content // []) | map(select(.type == "text") | .text) | join("\n"))
else
empty
end
' 2>/dev/null | grep -v "^ASSISTANT: $" > "$SCRATCH/${basename}.txt"
done
ls -lhS "$SCRATCH"
```
## Step 3: Spin up Sonnet subagents
Launch parallel Sonnet subagents to analyze conversations. Each agent should read:
- Global CLAUDE.md: `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`
- Local CLAUDE.md: `./CLAUDE.md` (if exists)
- Batch of conversation files
Give each agent this prompt template:
```
Read:
1. Global CLAUDE.md: ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
2. Local CLAUDE.md: [project]/CLAUDE.md
3. Conversations: [list of files]
Analyze the conversations against BOTH CLAUDE.md files. Find:
1. Instructions that exist but were violated (need reinforcement or rewording)
2. Patterns that should be added to LOCAL CLAUDE.md (project-specific)
3. Patterns that should be added to GLOBAL CLAUDE.md (applies everywhere)
4. Anything in either file that seems outdated or unnecessary
Be specific. Output bullet points only.
```
Batch conversations by size:
- Large (>100KB): 1-2 per agent
- Medium (10-100KB): 3-5 per agent
- Small (<10KB): 5-10 per agent
## Step 4: Aggregate findings
Combine results from all agents into a summary with these sections:
1. **Instructions violated** - existing rules that weren't followed (need stronger wording)
2. **Suggested additions - LOCAL** - project-specific patterns
3. **Suggested additions - GLOBAL** - patterns that apply everywhere
4. **Potentially outdated** - items that may no longer be relevant
Present as tables or bullet points. Ask user if they want edits drafted.
This skill reviews recent Claude conversations to recommend concrete improvements for global (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md) and project-local (./CLAUDE.md) guidance. It automates extraction of recent chats, runs parallel analyzers, and synthesizes actionable changes to wording, patterns, and outdated items. The goal is clearer, enforceable instructions and project-tailored conventions.
The skill locates the project conversation folder under ~/.claude/projects, extracts the most recent 15–20 conversations into a scratch directory, and normalizes messages into text files. It launches parallel Sonnet subagents, each comparing conversation batches to both global and local CLAUDE.md files to identify violations, missing patterns, and obsolete guidance. Finally it aggregates agent outputs into a concise summary of violated instructions, suggested local and global additions, and potentially outdated items.
How many conversations should I analyze?
Extract the 15–20 most recent conversations (excluding the current one) to capture relevant, recent behaviors without overwhelming agents.
What output will I get?
A consolidated set of bullet lists: instructions violated, suggested local additions, suggested global additions, and potentially outdated items. You can ask for drafted edits after reviewing the summary.