Cost Rules Starter

Arun Nagarathanam · 2 Sep 2026 · Checklist · 54 of 59 in this course

An exclusive resource for students of Arun's Claude Code Course.

A short bank of rules you can put into a project instruction file. This page does not change Claude Code by itself. In the next section you will choose the 2 that fit your project, put them in the right file, and test whether Claude follows them.

What makes something a rule you can write down

A rule belongs in a project instruction file when it says how you want Claude to behave, or how you do not. It has to be something Claude does. Two kinds of line look like they belong and do not:

A habit of your own. “Start a fresh session when the job changes” is a good habit, and it is yours. Claude has nothing to do about it, so writing it down changes nothing.
Something the tool already has a control for. If you want a plan before Claude acts, turn on plan mode. A written line asking for the same thing is a worse version of a switch you already have.

Everything below passes both tests. Each one costs you money or time every week that it is not written down.

Choose 2 rules for your project

Never rewrite a whole file when a small edit would have done. Never tell me a job is finished until you have run the project and seen it still works. Do not add a new package or dependency without asking me first. When you are not sure which file to change, ask me instead of guessing. Keep answers short, and do not re-explain what you just did. Do not create a new file when an existing one is the right place for it.

My 2 rules

Rule 1

Rule 2

Handoff

Bring these 2 choices to the next section. You will decide whether each one belongs in the project's own instruction file or in your personal one, put it there, and then run a test that shows you whether it is being followed.

This resource is part of

Claude Code: From Beginner to Pro Agentic AI Engineer

by Arun Nagarathanam

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AI GEO 2026: Get Recommended by ChatGPT, Google, Perplexity

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See Where You Stand

This resource is one piece of a much bigger system.

Take the free Claude Code Readiness Quiz. It is 15 short situations, scored out of 100, and it tests how you handle a job rather than what you know about a tool, so you can take it without ever having opened Claude Code.

Take the Claude Code Readiness Quiz →

15 situations · Scored out of 100 · Free