Claude Code for Teams

Composable configuration templates and a 22-part reference guide for standardizing Claude Code across your development team — whether you're on a Team Plan or a group of developers on individual subscriptions.

Compatible with Claude Code v2.1.49

Who This Guide Is For

Claude Code uses a hierarchical configuration system with four levels: Admin → User → Project → Project Local. This guide focuses on project-level configuration — the .claude/ directory and files you commit to git.

Your Situation	What You Get	How This Guide Helps
Team Plan ($25–$125/seat, min 5)	Admin console, managed-settings.json enforcement, SSO, spend caps, usage analytics	Admin policies handle guardrails. Use these templates for project-specific context, commands, and agents beneath those guardrails.
Individual Plans (Pro $20/mo or Max $100–$200/mo each)	Each dev manages their own subscription. No centralized admin.	This is your primary governance mechanism. The .claude/ directory committed to git is the only way to standardize Claude Code across your team.

Both scenarios benefit equally from project-level configuration. The difference is whether you have an admin layer above it.

Quick Start

Templates are composable. Start with common/ for universal best practices, then add stack-specific templates.

1. Copy Templates to Your Project

# Always start with common
cp -r templates/common/.claude /path/to/your-project/

# Add stack-specific template (merges with common)
cp -r templates/react/.claude /path/to/your-project/

2. Customize Placeholders

Edit .claude/CLAUDE.md and replace placeholders:

Placeholder	Description
{{PROJECT_NAME}}	Your project's name
{{PROJECT_DESCRIPTION}}	Brief project description
{{TECH_STACK}}	Your technology stack
{{KEY_DIRECTORIES}}	Important directories in your project
{{TECH_LEAD}}	Tech lead contact
{{DEVOPS_CONTACT}}	DevOps contact
{{TICKET_PREFIX}}	JIRA/ticket prefix (in git-workflow.md)

3. Commit and Use

git add .claude/
git commit -m "chore: add Claude Code team configuration"

# Start using
claude
/memory    # Verify rules loaded
/help      # See available commands

Available Templates

Template	Purpose	Status
common/	Universal best practices (git, code style, testing)	Available
react/	React + TypeScript + Vite + Vitest	Available
express/	Express.js API development	Planned
hono/	Hono API framework	Planned
nestjs/	NestJS framework	Planned
python/	Python development	Planned

Composing Templates

# React SPA
cp -r templates/common/.claude ./
cp -r templates/react/.claude ./

# Full-stack (when express is available)
cp -r templates/common/.claude ./
cp -r templates/react/.claude ./
cp -r templates/express/.claude ./

# API only (when express is available)
cp -r templates/common/.claude ./
cp -r templates/express/.claude ./

Template Contents

common/ — Universal Best Practices

templates/common/.claude/
├── CLAUDE.md                    # Project context template
├── settings.json                # Base permissions (git, file operations)
├── rules/
│   ├── code-style.md            # Formatting, naming conventions
│   ├── git-workflow.md          # Branch naming, commits, PRs
│   └── testing.md               # Testing philosophy
├── commands/
│   ├── git/
│   │   ├── branch.md            # /git/branch
│   │   ├── commit.md            # /git/commit
│   │   └── pr.md                # /git/pr
│   ├── review.md                # /review
│   ├── debug.md                 # /debug
│   └── docs.md                  # /docs
├── agents/
│   └── code-reviewer.md         # Generic code review agent
└── skills/
    └── commit-helper/
        └── SKILL.md             # Conventional commits helper

react/ — React-Specific

templates/react/.claude/
├── CLAUDE.md                    # React project context
├── settings.json                # React tooling (vite, vitest, etc.)
├── rules/
│   └── react.md                 # React patterns, hooks, components
├── commands/
│   └── dev/
│       ├── start.md             # /dev/start
│       ├── test.md              # /dev/test
│       └── lint.md              # /dev/lint
├── agents/
│   └── test-writer.md           # React Testing Library specialist
└── skills/
    └── component-scaffolder/
        └── SKILL.md             # Feature-based component scaffolding

Documentation

• Claude Code Docs - Official documentation
• Changelog - Latest features

Guide Contents

Part	Section	Description
1	Feature Overview	Core features, v2.0+ additions, memory hierarchy
2	Project Rules System	Modular rules, path-scoped activation
3	Directory Structure	Complete project layout
4	Configuration Files	CLAUDE.md, rules, settings.json examples
5	Slash Commands	Team slash commands for common workflows
6	Subagents	Specialized AI assistants for delegation
7	Agent Skills	Model-invoked capabilities, SKILL.md format
8	CLAUDE.md Imports	Import syntax, recursive imports
9	Team Onboarding	Pre-onboarding setup, developer steps
10	Best Practices	Rules strategy, permissions, commands
11	Security	Permission deny rules, security best practices
12	Troubleshooting	Common issues, useful commands
13	Checkpoints & Recovery	Code state snapshots
14	Plugin System	Installing and distributing plugins
15	Custom Output Styles	Team-distributed output styles
16	VS Code Extension	IDE integration
17	Team-Configurable Features	Sandbox mode, env vars
18	Quick Reference	Keyboard shortcuts, patterns
19	Agent Teams	Multi-agent collaboration and coordination
20	CI/CD Automation	GitHub Actions and GitLab CI/CD integration
21	Enterprise Admin	Authentication, LLM gateway, monitoring, analytics
22	Resources	Official docs, community resources

Team Onboarding

Setting up: Follow the Quick Start above, then see the detailed Team Onboarding Checklist for plan-specific setup steps and developer walkthrough.

Already set up: Developers pull the project (which includes the .claude/ directory), run claude, and verify with /memory and /help.

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Template Version: 2.4 | Compatible with Claude Code v2.1.49

Created by Jason Kellie | MIT License