Inform, maintain, and update Claude configurations, knowledge sources, and instructions

Key points

1. 1

   Knowledge does not update itself. When a source document changes, replace the file, remove the superseded version, and run a prompt that should show the new content (for example the new tagline).

2. 2

   Do not keep old and new versions side by side, and do not rely on an instruction to "prefer the newer document"; only the authoritative version should be present.

3. 3

   When the business changes (a new vendor category, a new policy), update the instruction that encodes the rule, test it on real examples, and tell the team what changed. Per-user prompt workarounds and "add a document about it" do not change the rule.

4. 4

   Claude cannot be retrained by users and does not learn the new categories from usage; configuration is changed by editing instructions and knowledge.

5. 5

   Name an owner for each shared Project. Review knowledge on a schedule (for example quarterly) and whenever a policy changes; remove documents that are no longer relevant.

6. 6

   Keep a changelog and a copy of the last known good instructions outside the Project. Claude has no history of its own configuration and cannot tell you what changed last week.

7. 7

   Match edit rights to roles: two named maintainers with "Can edit", everyone else on "Can view". Six editors with no process is how a shared Project silently degrades.

8. 8

   Keep a fixed regression set of test prompts with saved outputs from launch. After any change, rerun it and compare; when quality drifts, rerun it first to see which behaviours changed.

9. 9

   Diagnose before changing. Audit knowledge for duplicates, superseded versions and unrelated documents, and check instruction length, before rewriting anything or switching model. Change one thing at a time and retest.

10. 10

    Adding more content (Slack history, every new document) to a degraded Project deepens the likely cause; pruning usually helps more than adding.

11. 11

    Memory is per-user conversational context; it is not a mechanism for tracking policy changes or keeping knowledge files current.

12. 12

    Freezing a working configuration is not maintenance; policies change and a frozen Project starts giving confidently outdated answers.

13. 13

    Inform users: when categories, formats or sources change, tell the people using the Project so they know what to expect and can report regressions.

Read the source

• How can I create and manage projects?
• Manage project visibility and sharing
• Use Google Workspace connectors