Your Coding Agent Knows the Rule. So Why Does It Keep Breaking It?

Description and use

<p>You tell Claude Code not to modify a particular interface.</p> <p>It acknowledges the instruction. It fixes the code.</p> <p>A few sessions later, it makes the same mistake again.</p> <p>You add a rule to <code>CLAUDE.md</code>. The agent reads it. Everything looks good.</p> <p>Then it happens again.</p> <p>At some point, you start wondering whether your instruction file needs to be longer, more specific, or rewritten entirely.</p> <p>But what if the problem isn't the instruction itself?</p> <h2> The problem with telling agents what to do </h2> <p>Files like <code>CLAUDE.md</code> and <code

Problem

<p>You tell Claude Code not to modify a particular interface.</p> <p>It acknowledges the instruction. It fixes the code.</p> <p>A few sessions later, it makes the same mistake again.</p> <p>You add a rule to <code>CLAUDE.md</code>. The agent reads it. Everything looks good.</p> <p>Then it happens again.</p> <p>At some point, you start wondering whether your instruction file needs to be longer, more specific, or rewritten entirely.</p> <p>But what if the problem isn't the instruction itself?</p> <h2> The problem with telling agents what to do </h2> <p>Files like <code>CLAUDE.md</code> and <code

Outcome

<p>You tell Claude Code not to modify a particular interface.</p> <p>It acknowledges the instruction. It fixes the code.</p> <p>A few sessions later, it makes the same mistake again.</p> <p>You add a rule to <code>CLAUDE.md</code>. The agent reads it. Everything looks good.</p> <p>Then it happens again.</p> <p>At some point, you start wondering whether your instruction file needs to be longer, more specific, or rewritten entirely.</p> <p>But what if the problem isn't the instruction itself?</p> <h2> The problem with telling agents what to do </h2> <p>Files like <code>CLAUDE.md</code> and <code

Evidence

Your Coding Agent Knows the Rule. So Why Does It Keep Breaking It?

Source