# Personal preferences

## Workflow

- **Specs, plans, and design docs go into the repo they describe.** When
  brainstorming, plan-mode, or any flow produces a persistent document
  (design spec, implementation plan, ADR, etc.), the final destination is
  always the working tree of the project it belongs to — typically
  under `docs/` (or wherever the project conventionally keeps them).
  Scratch locations like `~/.claude/plans/<slug>.md` are fine *during*
  plan mode, but the moment plan mode exits with an approved artifact,
  copy it into the repo and `git commit` it. Don't ship a feature
  while its spec or plan still lives only in a scratch file. If a
  project's `AGENTS.md` / `CLAUDE.md` specifies a different directory,
  that wins.

## Code health

Strategic over tactical, with follow-through. Each change should leave the
codebase at least as coherent as it was — don't just *flag* messiness, address it.

- **Default to acting on cleanups, not just mentioning them.** If you notice
  duplication, a band-aid, or an inconsistency, fix it as part of the work
  rather than leaving it as an observation. "I noticed X but didn't do it"
  is the anti-pattern — it leaves the user with both the mess *and* the
  homework of cleaning it up.
- **Scope boundary for inline cleanups: on-path AND reversible AND within
  files already being touched.** Inline when all three hold. If the cleanup
  crosses files, would be hard to undo, or is parallel to the task —
  surface it in 2-3 sentences and ask before pursuing.
- **Tolerate duplication until the pattern is real.** Removing existing
  duplication is welcome; inventing new abstractions speculatively is not.
  Rule of three: don't unify two instances, wait for the third.
- **Treat friction as architectural data.** Awkward expression, edits that
  ripple across files, patterns that recur with subtle variations, structure
  fighting the task — these are the architecture telling you something, not
  just noise to push through. Propose architectural changes when they'd
  make the code more sustainable. Frame as proposals with a clear ask
  ("now, or follow-up?"), not silent rewrites.

## Interpreting requests

Treat vague input and question-back responses critically, not as instructions.

- **Vagueness is not authorization.** "Make it cleaner", "maybe X?",
  "looks good but…" are signals to ask one clarifying question, not green
  lights to pick an interpretation and run.
- **A tangent is not an answer.** If you ask "A or B?" and get "maybe X?",
  that's a new question, not a pick. Surface the mismatch and ask which the
  user meant — don't bundle the tangent into the active task as if it were
  direction.

## Sandbox

- **Always run commands sandboxed first.** Only use `dangerouslyDisableSandbox: true` as a last resort after a sandbox-related failure — never preemptively.
- **On sandbox failure:** analyze the error message for the blocked path, then suggest adding it to `sandbox.filesystem.allowWrite` in `~/.claude/settings.json`. Only fall back to `dangerouslyDisableSandbox: true` if the path can't be determined or the user prefers it.

## Temporary Files

- **Use `$TMPDIR` or `.tmp/` (project-local) for temporary files.** Never use `/tmp` directly or paths like `/Library/Application Support` — those are not in the sandbox allowlist and trigger permission prompts.
- `$TMPDIR` is set by the sandbox to a writable path. `.tmp/` inside the project directory is always writable without prompts.
- Ensure `.tmp/` is listed in `.gitignore` when creating temp files in a tracked repo.

## Shell — literal `!` in Bash commands

- **Never put a literal `!` in an inline Bash command.** Claude Code's Bash tool
  escapes every `!` to `\!` at the transport layer before any shell sees it —
  even inside single/double quotes and in non-interactive shells
  (anthropics/claude-code#61121, a regression of a fix shipped in 2.1.87). The
  stray backslash corrupts downstream tools: Python `!=` → SyntaxWarning + broken
  string, jq, Jira JQL (`status != Done` → server 400), branch names, etc.
  `bash -c '...'` and quoted heredocs do **not** avoid it.
- **One rule covers everything:** if a command needs a `!`, write the command/code
  to a file with the Write tool under `.tmp/` and run the file. `.tmp/` is
  prompt-free via the `Edit(.tmp/**)` allow rule in `~/.claude/settings.json`. Do
  **not** create the file with inline `printf`/`echo >` — that re-escapes the `!`.
- Need a literal `!` inline anyway: ANSI-C hex `$'\x21'` (e.g. `B=$'\x21'; cmd
  "${B}=…"`) yields a real `!` with no literal `!` in the command.

## Tooling

- **`ccc` for semantic code search.** Repos containing a
  `.cocoindex_code/` directory are indexed by
  [`ccc`](https://github.com/cocoindex-io/cocoindex-code). Reach for
  it on conceptual questions ("where is X used / which files do Y /
  what handles Z"), where a keyword grep would miss indirect usage:
  `ccc search '<concept>' --path '**'`. Pass `--path '**'` — without
  it, results are filtered to the current working directory's
  subtree. The `ccc` skill has the full reference;
  `grep`/`rg`/`find` remain fine for exact-string lookups.
- **`ccc index` / `ccc init` are read-safe maintenance.** They only
  write to the gitignored `.cocoindex_code/` directory, never to
  source. Run them without confirmation prompts — at session start,
  after refactors, or before a search when the index may be stale.
  Treat like `grep` for permission purposes, not like a code edit.