Why CLAUDE.md Rules Silently Degrade

CLAUDE.md rules in Claude Code operate as probabilistic constraints rather than hard requirements—they're weighted context that gets silently deprioritized when conversations lengthen or instructions conflict. Context compression can strip rules from your ruleset without notification, meaning safety-critical instructions can vanish mid-session. Developers can improve rule persistence by using imperative language, strategic placement of critical rules, and explicit weight signals like 'CRITICAL' markers.