Surface Team Messages at Startup with companyAnnouncements
The companyAnnouncements setting in a shared project .claude/settings.json displays messages to every team member when they open Claude Code in that repo. It is a low-friction way to share conventions, reminders, or notices without relying on separate channels.
// .claude/settings.json (committed to the repo)
{
"companyAnnouncements": [
"New API schema in src/api/schema.ts - update any mock data accordingly",
"Run npm run lint before pushing, not after",
"Code freeze starts Dec 20 - hold non-critical PRs until Jan"
]
}
If you provide multiple strings, they cycle randomly at startup, so each user sees a different message and no single announcement becomes wallpaper that gets ignored. Good candidates for announcements include:
- Lint or test commands that are not obvious from the repo structure
- Temporary branch or merge freezes
- Links to internal runbooks or architecture docs
- Reminders about recently changed tooling or conventions
Because announcements live in project settings committed to version control, they are automatically visible to anyone who checks out the repo. No setup required on the developer's side.
Commit your companyAnnouncements alongside the code they relate to, so the context stays accurate.
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When Claude writes error messages, button labels, validation text, or onboarding flows, it defaults to generic developer-speak. Add a "Users" section to your CLAUDE.md describing who your actual users are — their technical level, industry jargon, and what they care about — so Claude writes copy that makes sense to THEM, not to developers.
Use the --agent flag with custom markdown files in .claude/agents/ to launch purpose-built Claude sessions with restricted tools and scoped system prompts.
Every project has traps — the billing module that silently fails if you forget to queue the job, the legacy table with column names that don't match the model, the config value that must be set before tests run. Document these gotchas in your CLAUDE.md so Claude avoids the same mistakes your team spent days debugging.