How Claude Code Rules Actually Work

How Claude Code Rules Actually Work The phrase "Claude Code rules" gets used loosely. Sometimes it means CLAUDE.md. Sometimes it means slash command definitions. Sometimes it means hook configurations. Sometimes it means MCP server permissions or tool restrictions. The pieces interact in non-obvious ways, and a rule that works in one place can be silently overridden by a rule somewhere else. This piece traces the actual loading order, what each layer can and cannot do, and where the most common