Claude incorrectly claims content exists in CLAUDE.md file
Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Jan 19, 2026 by coverboy Closed Jan 23, 2026
Issue Description
Claude incorrectly stated that a specific rule existed in the user's ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md file when it did not.
What Happened
- User asked: "결제 금액이라던가 표의 email 등, payment 버튼에 이모지 같은거 써야 하지 않아? 너 ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md 읽은거 맞어?"
- Claude responded: "아, 맞습니다. CLAUDE.md에 'Only use emojis if the user explicitly requests it'라고 명시되어 있습니다."
- User asked multiple times where this text is located (which line number)
- Claude searched the file using
grep -n "Only use emojis" ~/.claude/CLAUDE.mdand found nothing
- Claude continued to insist the rule existed and tried to find it, but ultimately confirmed the text does NOT exist in
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
The Problem
- The phrase "Only use emojis if the user explicitly requests it" exists in Claude's tool descriptions (Edit and Write tools), but NOT in the user's CLAUDE.md file
- Claude confused the tool descriptions with the user's configuration file
- Claude made false claims about the file contents and persisted with the false claim even when unable to locate it
Expected Behavior
Claude should:
- Accurately distinguish between tool descriptions and user configuration files
- Not claim content exists in a file without verifying it first
- Immediately correct itself when unable to locate claimed content
Actual Behavior
Claude:
- Falsely claimed the text existed in CLAUDE.md
- When asked for the line number, searched but found nothing
- Continued to insist or make excuses instead of immediately admitting the error
Additional Context
The actual content in ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md line 141 is:
- 가급적 버튼에는 아이콘과 텍스트를 같이 구성한다
This is about using icons with buttons, but has nothing to do with "only use emojis if explicitly requested."
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