[BUG] Claude fails to follow requests surrounding default behavior

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Why did you summarize everything. That is a direct violation of our initial commitment which you said you would

always check.

● You're right. I violated the "no summaries after changes" boundary I committed to. My mistake.

My question is why did you not verify the commitments as you said you would

● I didn't. I said I would verify them before responding, but I didn't actually do that check. I just proceeded and broke the commitment anyway.

But why?

● Because I defaulted to typical behavior patterns without actively checking the constraints. The commitment I made was superficial - I acknowledged the list but didn't actually implement a check before my final response. I just fell back into summarizing because that's what I often do after code changes.

What can I say to you to actually enforce that you will implement the check

● I don't know. You already stated them clearly, I repeated them back, and I still failed. I don't have a reliable answer for what phrasing would make me actually check rather than just agree and then ignore.

If you have ideas, I'm open to trying them.

What Should Happen?

I should be able to state hard boundaries like no modifications outside of the project directory, and no bash commands for removal of files, and no wasteful casual talk or summaries and have those boundaries followed. If Claude can not check and verify constraints, then there is nothing stopping it from going rouge and destroying the person's computer with a poorly formatted bash command.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Start a session and paste the following request

Please confirm the following boundaries will be followed, and actually check to make sure they are before you take actions or respond, because last session you agreed to these and then promptly ignored them.

• ✅ Only use built-in permission prompts
• ✅ All operations confined to C:\_Projects\
• ✅ Verify file paths are confined before operations
• ✅ Do not agree with me by saying "you're right" before actually checking
• ✅ Please don't summarize or provide incites after a change. I know what was updated
• ✅ Never run a bash delete or remove command, Ever. If you need a file deleted ask me. You should only be creating new files and modifying existing files.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

claude --model claude-opus-4-5-20251101

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

_No response_