A structured installation
- 01The map of a structured setup8 min
A Claude Code setup that holds up over time reads as a map of seven elements, the engine, the CLAUDE.md constitution, file based memory, the git transport, hooks, skills and the scheduled heartbeat, rather than as a pile of settings with no plan.
- 02Installing, signing in and the first launch10 min
The native Claude Code installer updates itself, signing in happens through a Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise or Console subscription rather than an API key forgotten in the environment, and claude doctor returns a read only diagnosis before any fix.
- 03The global CLAUDE.md, a constitution9 min
The global CLAUDE.md now targets a length in lines rather than in kilobytes, and it does not override the other CLAUDE.md files by overwriting them: the four scopes, managed, user, project, local, are concatenated in the context from the broadest to the most specific.
- 04Wiring file based memory to git10 min
A memory folder versioned by git, with a private remote and a merge rule that keeps both contents rather than forcing one over the other, remains a technique to build yourself, distinct from the native automatic memory, which never leaves the local machine.
- 05Hooks and heartbeat10 min
Lifecycle events trigger hooks on three distinct cadences, SessionStart and SessionEnd form the natural pair for automating the memory protocol, and nightly consolidation remains an operating system scheduled task you build yourself, not a Claude Code mechanism documented under that name.
- 06Curating your skills and closing out the setup9 min
A skill is installed one at a time, against a need you have already encountered, never in a batch, and closing out the setup means proving each of the module's seven map elements with an executable action rather than assuming it is in place.