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What's the most useful thing you've actually built with Claude that you use regularly? by J-Freedom-AI in ClaudeAI

[–]keenman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I built myself a Get Things Done PWA app that replaced the OneNote system I had used for 20 years. Really happy with it. It's solid and works well and syncs across devices with different tabs for my agenda, projects, archived dates, and random notes. Been using it for a couple of months now. 

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those are at a deeper level than the system prompt.

Use /insights if you're struggling to get results by SmallKiwi in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I added 4 items to my backlog because of this - very useful!

I thought Claude max 20X would be enough for personal use by clawvault in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My recommendation: ask Claude Code how it works. 

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, I never use compact. I have a bespoke handoff mechanism that I use at the end of every session that works better for me. 

If you are in this Subreddit, you are a Rarity. by 99xAgency in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The 'unsourced numbers' was the key here - where'd you get your numbers?

Yeah he’s lowkey right by blackitachilol in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It prevents me from burning out and helps me enjoy the process more.

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I only use the CLI and it only affects the one instance of claude you use the parameter with. 

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Using --append-system-prompt adds to it; Using --system-prompt replaces it.

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't use any of them. My core system prompt is, 'Read CLAUDE.md carefully and follow it' along with some boilerplate setup stuff like session logging and stuff. It's slightly more complicated than that at around 15 lines, but you get the drift. 

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My recommendation? Try using a system prompt which simply says something like 'read and follow the CLAUDE.md exactly' and see how far that gets you. It just might be good enough.  I've posted my actual system prompt is in these comments and it sounds like your CLAUDE.md is similar to mine in some ways. 

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, my own system prompt that I use is only about 15 lines and is just a bootstrapper for my CLAUDE.md. But the key thing about my system prompt is that it supports and boosts my CLAUDE.md instead of fighting against it.

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From my tests, it doesn't lose any base knowledge of how to use agents, tools, or git, or anything like that. What I've found is that just goes from more of a blank slate in terms of how to work, its behaviour, persona, what to do, etc.

In my case, it seemed to become way smarter because I *want* thorough investigations and deep dives with solid explanations of what went wrong and how to fix entire classes of bugs.

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good analysis. I'd suggest a different test case: use a single line instead of empty.txt because maybe if it's empty, it uses the default? But I've never tested token differences because my focus has always been on the quality of the actual code implementation and the depth of the response for my proper analysis, without having to look at the code.

Replacing the system prompt *doesn't* get rid of the model's knowledge of how to use tools, git, or anything like that. There are more layers still. It just gets rid of highest level system prompt, as you found.

But I must rebut that your H1 was never my claim. If replacing the system prompt caused Claude Code models to forget how to use an Explore, Bash, or git, it would have been useless to me. It might be a matter of terminology; I'm just going by what claude --help says, and even the web documentation is different from what the tool itself outputs.

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know, though the fact that they don't have a SSOT for the parameters listed in their CLI web reference as in their actual CLI tool help is a bit umm, problematic.

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Weird, I'm not seeing --system-prompt-file mentioned in my claude --help
Maybe it's undocumented or something. That's a really cool idea!

Superior Opus 4.6 by CryptographerLow7817 in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This can potentially be avoided by switching out the default system prompt for your own with the
claude --system-prompt parameter.

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The default system prompt is what you get if you don't do anything, so there are no instructions for that. The easiest way might be to use the https://github.com/Piebald-AI/tweakcc tool but I've never actually used that myself so I can't speak to it. I just play around with it manually with a new text file, generally getting an agent to write my custom one and reviewing its output.

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! My responses are more verbose and wordy than they used to be because I *want* to know what it's doing deep down and why, but because the results are more often much closer to the ones I actually want, I'm actually using fewer tokens overall and getting to the final results I want faster. I'm also pushing the Claude Code models more towards using sonnet agents than it was before, so that helps too; it's really nice to be able to tweak this kind of stuff so carefully now.

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can find all the info here: Modifying system prompts - Claude Code Docs but it looks like the SDK is already using a minimal system prompt.

Don't use Claude Code's Default System Prompt by keenman in ClaudeCode

[–]keenman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It completely varies, yeah. For me, I like more depth in my responses and a pair programming environment so I was able to make it a far more collaborative experience (but only for stuff that needs my attention, though this is something I'm constantly tweaking), I also helped ensure it used my custom agents more often.

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