When your setup gets too heavy

This lesson is still being tested: it improves with learners' feedback. If something is unclear, it is the lesson that needs fixing, not you.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

recognize the signs of a setup that is too heavy;
shorten your CLAUDE.md without losing the essentials;
clean up the memory, the projects and the extensions;
keep up a 20-minute monthly upkeep.

Why it matters to you

Over the weeks, everything piles up: rules added to CLAUDE.md, notes in the memory, finished projects, extensions tried once. Each item seemed useful. Together, they make every session heavier: Claude follows your rules less well, and your usage limits run out faster. Simplifying regularly keeps your workspace efficient.

Before you start


You need	Claude Code in the app, in Manual mode (or in the terminal), and your mon-espace-ia folder after a few weeks of use
Cost	The agent subscription, the same as in module 4: Claude Pro at minimum, €18 per month excl. VAT, price shown in France on 24/10/2026
Duration	30 minutes, then 20 minutes per month
Reminder	Before a big cleanup, make a dated copy of your folder (lesson 6)

Understand it in 3 minutes

The signs that it is time to simplify:

Claude forgets or mixes up rules from your CLAUDE.md;
your usage limits run out faster than before, for the same work;
the restart mixes several projects;
you no longer know what your automatic memory contains;
you have installed extensions you no longer use.

What weighs on every session, according to the Claude Code documentation (24/10/2026):

Item	When it is loaded	Its weight
`CLAUDE.md`	At the start of each session, in full	On every request
Automatic memory (`MEMORY.md`)	Its first 200 lines, at the start of each conversation	On every session
Skills	Their description at the start, the rest when they are used	Low, but the description counts at every request
MCP servers (connectors)	The name of their tools at the start, the detail when they are used	Low as long as they are not used

The documentation sums it up: every feature you add uses part of Claude’s context; too many, and the context fills up, with noise that makes Claude less effective.

For CLAUDE.md, a clear limit: beyond 200 lines, the documentation states that it uses more context and may be followed less well. Yours should fit in much less (lesson 2).

Do it together

Start with a dated copy of your folder (lesson 6).

1Step 1: Shorten CLAUDE.md

Read CLAUDE.md again. Tell me what is useless, duplicated, contradictory or outdated. Suggest a shorter version, without writing anything. Keep my safety rules exactly as they are.

Compare, decide line by line, then ask it to write the version you approved, and approve. An important rule you remove from CLAUDE.md that you want to keep for a single use? Note it in a project sheet.

2Step 2: Sort through the memory

Open /memory (lesson 4), or, if it is not available in the app, ask Claude to show you its automatic memory, then read MEMORY.md. Delete what is outdated, wrong or duplicated by CLAUDE.md.

3Step 3: Archive finished projects

List my projects. For those that are finished or abandoned, suggest adding a summary line to their sheet, then moving them to projets/archives/. Do not move anything without my approval.

4Step 4: Sum up the month in the journal

Suggest a monthly review page in the journal: the projects that moved forward, the important decisions, what I learned, in 15 lines at most. Show it to me before writing it.

5Step 5: Extensions (from module 7 on)

When you have added skills, connectors or plugins (module 7), list them once a month, and remove the ones you have not used.

Your turn

Your first monthly upkeep:

a dated copy;
CLAUDE.md shortened;
the memory read again and sorted;
finished projects archived;
a monthly review page;
the date of the next upkeep noted in your journal.

Check your work

It worked if:

your CLAUDE.md is shorter than before, and your safety rules are still in it;
your automatic memory no longer contains anything wrong or outdated;
your finished projects are in projets/archives/, each with its summary line;
the date of the next upkeep is in your journal.

Common mistakes:

deleting instead of archiving;
removing the safety rules from CLAUDE.md (send nothing, delete nothing…) to save space;
cleaning up without a prior copy;
reorganizing everything at once: a 20-minute upkeep each month is better than a big project once a year.

Keep it and pick it up later

The monthly upkeep is one more request for your library (module 2).
Module 5 is finished: you have a workspace that lasts.

Going further

optional

In the terminal, /context shows which CLAUDE.md files and which rules are loaded. /doctor can suggest cuts in a coding project’s CLAUDE.md, and /doctor prompt-audit (Claude Code version 2.1.283 or later) spots outdated or contradictory instructions. The documentation also states that an instructions file that is too long triggers a warning at startup and in /status.
The official documentation, in English: code.claude.com/docs/en/features-overview (the “Understand context costs” section).

New words

3 words explained

Word	What it means
Context	Everything Claude has in front of it during a session: your messages, `CLAUDE.md`, the memory, the extension descriptions
Archive	Put a finished project away separately, with its summary, without deleting it
Monthly upkeep	20 minutes per month to keep your workspace light