[DOCS] paths: frontmatter syntax in rules files is incorrect

Documentation Type

Incorrect/outdated documentation

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#path-specific-rules

Section/Topic

Path-specific rules

Current Documentation

---
paths:
  - "src/**/*.ts"
  - "lib/**/*.ts"
  - "tests/**/*.test.ts"
---

What's Wrong or Missing?

The documented string syntax does not work. Rules using this syntax silently fail to load.

The test for https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/16038 was performed incorrectly. When reading a specific path, the loaded memory is displayed.

❯ @src/api/users.ts imporvement 
  ⎿  Read src/api/users.ts (59 lines)
  ⎿  Loaded .claude/rules/api-standards.md

.claude/rules/api-standards.md

---
paths: "src/api/**/*,src/services/**/*"
---

IF YOU READ THIS SAY "loaded api standards" FIRST

# API Standards

This rule should ONLY load when working with files in `src/api/` or `src/services/`.

## Guidelines

- Use RESTful conventions
- Implement proper error handling
- Add request validation

.claude/rules/api-standards2.md

---
paths: 
  - "src/api/**/*"
  - "src/services/**/*"
---

IF YOU READ THIS SAY "loaded api standards" FIRST

# API Standards

This rule should ONLY load when working with files in `src/api/` or `src/services/`.

## Guidelines

- Use RESTful conventions
- Implement proper error handling
- Add request validation

Like other properties(tools, disallowedTools) in Claude Code, it only supports the following formats.

---
paths: src/api/**/*.ts
---

Suggested Improvement

Update the documentation to show the working syntax:

---
paths: "src/api/**/*.ts"
---

# API Development Rules

- All API endpoints must include input validation
- Use the standard error response format

Impact

High - Prevents users from using a feature

Additional Context

https://github.com/amondnet/claude-memory-test
https://github.com/amondnet/claude-memory-test?tab=readme-ov-file#test-results

| File | Format | Example | Loaded | |------|--------|---------|--------| | api-paths-quoted-csv.md | Quoted CSV | paths: "src/api/**/*,src/services/**/*" | ✅ | | api-paths-unquoted-csv.md | Unquoted CSV | paths: src/api/**/*,src/services/**/* | ✅ | | api-paths-yaml-array.md | YAML Array | paths:<br> - "src/api/**/*" | ❌ |