A Manual: Write the Rules Once, Skip the Repeats
Tired of telling the AI every time "use Chinese, don't use such-and-such library, run the tests before committing"? Write these fixed rules into one manual and have it read them automatically every time—and you're free.
In many AI coding tools, this manual is a file in the project (e.g. CLAUDE.md), and the AI reads it before every job.
What Goes In: Stable, Repeatedly-Used Conventions
The test is simple: is this rule stable and used over and over? If so, write it into the manual; if it's just a one-off request for this time, put it in an ordinary question.
# 项目说明（给 AI 读）
- 一律用中文回复
- 数据库改动必须写迁移脚本，禁止手改表
- 提交前先跑 `npm test`，全绿才提交
- 命名用小写连字符：user-profile，不要 userProfileWrite a Good Manual: Specific, Actionable, Not Too Long
The manual is part of the context too—it takes up the desk every time. So the principles are the same as for good context: specific, actionable, and kept concise.
In one line: the manual is a list of rules for the AI—short, precise, and doable beats long and vague.
自测 · 学完检查一下
想真正动手做题、记进度、攒连胜？到互动课里练。
What problem does a "manual for the AI / project convention" mainly solve?
答案：Writing fixed rules once so you don't repeat them every time
The manual is like an onboarding handbook: write down the rules you'd otherwise repeat, and the AI reads them automatically, sparing you from saying them over and over.
Judge: in some AI coding tools, this manual is a file in the project (like CLAUDE.md) that the AI reads before working.
答案：True
Indeed: write the project conventions into a fixed file, and the AI reads it before each job—like automatically putting the rules on the desk.
Which is best suited to go into the project manual (rather than an ordinary question)?
答案："This project always replies in Chinese and must run tests before committing"
Only stable, repeatedly-used conventions go into the manual; the other three are one-off requests for right now—just say them in an ordinary question.
A simple test: if you've already had to tell the AI the same thing a ___ time, it probably belongs in the manual.
答案：second
A recurring request is a stable convention—put it in the manual once and for all; a one-off request need not go in.
Judge: the longer and more detailed the manual, the better—pile in all the "ideally, try to, in principle" you can think of, to be safe.
答案：False
The manual takes up context every time; being too long and vague is a distraction. The principle is specific, actionable, and concise—every line directly doable.
Which manual line is written best?
答案："Run `npm test` before committing, and only commit if all pass"
A good rule is specific and actionable: a clear action and a clear pass/fail criterion. The others are empty words you can't act on.