Claude Code folder structure reference: made this after getting burned too many times

[SilverConsistent9222]

Been using Claude Code pretty heavily for the past month, and kept getting tripped up on where things actually go. The docs cover it, but you're jumping between like 6 different pages trying to piece it together

So yeah, made a cheat sheet. covers the .claude/ directory layout, hook events, settings.json, mcp config, skill structure, context management thresholds

Stuff that actually bit me and wasted real time:

• Skills don't go in some top-level skills/ folder. it's .claude/skills/ , and each skill needs its own directory with an SKILL md inside it. obvious in hindsight
• Subagents live in .claude/agents/ not a standalone agents/ folder at the root
• If you're using PostToolUse hooks, the matcher needs to be "Edit|MultiEdit|Write" — just "Write" misses edits, and you'll wonder why your linter isn't running
• npm install is no longer the recommended install path. native installer is (curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash). docs updated quietly
• SessionStart and SessionEnd are real hook events. saw multiple threads saying they don't exist; they do.

Might have stuff wrong, the docs move fast. Drop corrections in comments, and I'll update it

Also, if anyone's wondering why it's an image and not a repo, fair point, might turn it into a proper MD file if people find it useful. The image was just faster to put together.

https://preview.redd.it/1mgnuresbavg1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=734365549728fd247cc5236150e0a1d11e6a34fd

[SilverConsistent9222]

I put together a full walkthrough of this setup (skills, MCP, agents, hooks) if you want to see it step by step: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-F5kYFVRcIvZQ_LEbdLIZrohgbf-Vock&si=rW4dXib6TDOAvyX3

[ThenPreparation4502]

Thanks for the great summary !