The .claude/ Ecosystem

The .claude/ directory is where Claude Code stops being a command you run and becomes something you configure. Hooks, subagents, MCP servers, skills, path-scoped rules — all live here, all check into git, all compound across your team. Most engineers never look inside .claude/. The ones who do ship 5x faster.

Learning Objectives

After this lesson, you will be able to:

Navigate the .claude/ directory: settings.json, settings.local.json, hooks/, agents/, skills/, rules/, commands/, memory/
Distinguish project, user, and enterprise settings — and pick the right level for any rule
Use settings.local.json for personal overrides without polluting the team's settings.json
Read a settings.json end-to-end: permissions, hooks, MCP servers, environment variables

Prerequisites

Before You Start

Review

File	Scope	Commit to git?
`~/.claude/settings.json`	All your projects	Personal — never commit
`<project>/.claude/settings.json`	This project, all team members	YES — commit it
`<project>/.claude/settings.local.json`	This project, only you	NO — gitignore it
Enterprise managed settings	Org-wide via Claude Console	Pushed by admin

The .claude/ Ecosystem

After this lesson, you will be able to:

Before You Start

#The Directory Layout

Your Reflection

Continue Learning

Discussion

#settings.json: The Big One

#Three Settings Levels

#settings.local.json: Personal Overrides

#The Other Subdirectories

#hooks/

#agents/

#skills/

#rules/

#memory/

#Hands-On

#Key Takeaways

#Quick Check