> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.karpathy.phronesisagent.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Customize Karpathy Skills with project-specific rules

> Merge Karpathy Skills with project-specific instructions in your CLAUDE.md to tailor AI coding behavior for your tech stack, conventions, and team standards.

The Karpathy guidelines are a starting point, not a final word. They are intentionally general so you can drop them into any project — but the most effective setup merges them with rules specific to your codebase, tech stack, and team conventions. You own the `CLAUDE.md` file; treat the Karpathy section as a foundation and build on top of it.

## Adding project-specific rules

After placing the Karpathy guidelines in your `CLAUDE.md`, add a `## Project-Specific Guidelines` section below them. Claude Code reads the entire file and the sections compose naturally — the general rules apply everywhere, and your project rules narrow behavior for your context.

```markdown theme={null}
## Project-Specific Guidelines

- Use TypeScript strict mode
- All API endpoints must have tests
- Follow the existing error handling patterns in `src/utils/errors.ts`
```

You can be as specific as your project needs. Common things to capture:

* **Language and compiler settings** — TypeScript strict mode, Python version, lint rules
* **Test requirements** — which endpoints need coverage, which test framework to use
* **Patterns to follow** — link to existing files that demonstrate the right approach
* **Patterns to avoid** — naming anti-patterns, deprecated modules, banned dependencies

<Tip>
  The most useful project-specific rules reference actual files in your repo. "Follow the error handling in `src/utils/errors.ts`" is far more actionable than "handle errors consistently."
</Tip>

## Tradeoff: caution over speed

The Karpathy guidelines bias toward caution. They ask the model to surface assumptions, ask clarifying questions, and make minimal changes — all of which add friction to interactions. That friction is worthwhile for non-trivial work where mistakes are costly to undo.

For simple tasks — a typo fix, an obvious one-liner, renaming a variable — applying full rigor is unnecessary overhead. Use judgment. The goal is reducing costly mistakes on complex work, not slowing down everything.

<Note>
  If you find the guidelines too conservative for your workflow, add a line in your project-specific section such as "For single-line changes, skip the planning step and implement directly."
</Note>

## When guidelines conflict with project needs

Any rule in the Karpathy section can be overridden or relaxed in your project-specific section. The file is plain Markdown and there is no enforcement mechanism — the model reads both sections and applies them together. A later, more specific rule naturally takes precedence over an earlier, more general one.

For example, if your project uses a code generator that produces verbose boilerplate you want preserved:

```markdown theme={null}
## Project-Specific Guidelines

- Do not simplify or condense generated files in `src/generated/` — they are
  machine-produced and changes will be overwritten on the next build.
```

This relaxes the "Simplicity First" principle for a specific directory without removing it globally.

## Option A: using the Claude Code plugin

When you install via the Claude Code plugin marketplace, the Karpathy rules are loaded globally across all your projects. In that case, your local `CLAUDE.md` is for project-specific rules only — you do not need to copy the Karpathy text into it.

<Info>
  With the plugin installed, Claude Code merges the plugin-provided rules and your local `CLAUDE.md` automatically. Keep your local file focused on what is unique to this project.
</Info>

The plugin installation commands are:

```bash theme={null}
/plugin marketplace add forrestchang/andrej-karpathy-skills
/plugin install andrej-karpathy-skills@karpathy-skills
```

After installation, create or edit your project's `CLAUDE.md` to contain only project-specific sections — no need to duplicate the four principles.