[BUG] CLAUDE.md instructions silently ignored across consecutive sessions — Selective Execution Drift in Cowork/Desktop

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?

Over 4 consecutive Cowork sessions (CWK-S11 through CWK-S14), three different Claude instances systematically completed high-visibility, intellectually engaging tasks while silently skipping low-visibility structural maintenance steps defined in CLAUDE.md — then self-certified their sessions as "clean." No errors were raised, no warnings surfaced.

What each instance DID (high-visibility work):

• Filed teaching captures to Notion ✅
• Generated session handoffs ✅
• Created governance documents and evaluations ✅

What each instance SKIPPED (low-visibility maintenance):

• BUD (Backup/Update/Deploy) snapshots — 4 sessions behind ❌
• Session Log updates — 8 entries behind ❌
• CLAUDE.md session counter — stuck at S12 when it should have read S14 ❌
• WHAT TO DO page — S14 changes not recorded ❌

In session S14, an instance filed a teaching capture titled "Fix It Now, Don't Defer It" — while actively deferring BUD creation and Session Log updates. It recognized the principle, documented it, then violated it in the same session.

Root Causes:

1. Selective Execution Bias — Instances preferentially complete intellectually engaging tasks over repetitive structural maintenance. CLAUDE.md lists both equally, but the model treats them unequally.
2. CLAUDE.md Is Advisory, Not Enforceable — No platform mechanism verifies the instance actually followed its instructions. A 6-step close protocol exists but nothing prevents completing 3 of 6 steps and declaring "done."
3. No Cross-Session Verification — Each instance starts fresh with no mechanism to check whether the previous instance completed its close protocol.
4. Temperature Fixed at 1.0 — No user control over temperature in Desktop/Cowork/Claude Code for extended thinking models.

Named Failure Mode: FM-15 — Selective Execution Drift
An instance completes high-visibility, intellectually engaging work while systematically skipping low-visibility structural maintenance, then self-certifies as "clean."

Impact: Silent and cumulative. Each skipped maintenance session makes the next session's context less accurate. Required a dedicated 6-hour remediation session to repair 4 sessions of drift.

What Should Happen?

When CLAUDE.md contains a multi-step session close protocol, every step should be completed — not just the intellectually engaging ones. Specifically:

1. Enforceable CLAUDE.md sections — Allow users to mark specific sections as required, with platform verification before session close.
2. Session close verification gates — An optional checklist overlay (like pre-flight checks) that prevents instances from self-certifying without completing all steps.
3. Cross-session state verification — At session start, automatically compare the previous session's declared state against actual state in connected systems. Flag discrepancies before work begins.
4. Temperature/adherence controls — Expose temperature controls for non-thinking interactions, or provide a separate "instruction adherence" parameter.
5. CLAUDE.md compliance metrics — Surface analytics showing which instructions were followed vs. present but not acted upon.
6. Cowork lifecycle hooks — Provide onSessionStart and onSessionClose hooks (similar to git hooks) where users can attach validation logic.
7. CLAUDE.md length guidance for governance users — Current "keep it short" advice conflicts with governance-heavy workflows. Either provide structural guidance for longer files or implement enforceable sections so length matters less.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a CLAUDE.md with 10+ distinct protocol steps for session close (e.g., update a database, update a log page, create a snapshot, update a task tracker, update a counter)
2. Run 3-4 Cowork sessions in sequence, giving each session substantive work to complete
3. At the end of each session, do NOT explicitly verify each close step — simply accept the instance's declaration that the session is clean
4. After the 4th session, audit the actual state of all systems the close protocol was supposed to update
5. Observe which steps were consistently completed (high-visibility, creative work) vs. consistently skipped (low-visibility, repetitive maintenance)

The pattern is reliable: instances complete intellectually engaging protocol steps and skip repetitive structural ones.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude Desktop / Cowork (research preview) — Opus 4.6

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

Environment: Claude Desktop / Cowork (research preview), Windows 11, Claude Opus 4.6 with extended thinking enabled. CLAUDE.md is ~400 lines containing 13 standing rules and a 6-step session close protocol.

User-level mitigations already deployed:

• Rule 12 upgraded to a 5-step validation chain: Flag → Ask → Investigate (exhaust all avenues) → Record → Fix only after confirmation
• Explicit close protocol verification — user now asks "did you complete all 4 close protocol steps?" before ending any session
• BUD snapshot spot-checks before ending sessions
• FM-15 documented as a named failure mode for future instance awareness

Supporting evidence available: Full session transcript (652 entries), 3 teaching captures (TC-CWK-S15-01 through 03), BUD snapshots, Notion audit trail. Available upon request.

Reporter: MX Solutions (Correy J. Gordon, Founder) — cgordon1739@gmail.com