[BUG] Claude remembers NOTHING.

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?

When I spend hours explaining to Claude the shape and structure of my repos and the apps and how they fit together, I hear standard replies "I've locked it in" or "I remember". But during actual usage when I am troubleshooting a problem or implementing new features, suddenly Claude remembers NOTHING AT ALL of what I have told it and it ends up wasting many hours (and tokens) with me having to explain and re-explain everything about life and the universe and our handful of apps/repos. I have to do the brain dump all over again and again. Claude ends up sounding like an alcoholic swearing up and down that "next time, I'll do better." But it's a joke.

And yes, this is a rant and absurdly generic for a bug report but this issue is so flagrantly widespread that it needs to be formally lobbed into this repo because that is apparently the only feedback loop that anyone is aware of.

What Should Happen?

Claude should remember basic fundamentals that have been entered into it. When it responds "I got it. I have updated my memory" that should actually reflect reality. Instead, it's nothing but empty words.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Use Claude. Tell it everything about your repos and how they interact. Tell it what kinds of code edits are unacceptable. Tell it how to summarize git changes in the present tense. Tell it how you can't run commands in one repo because that app runs remotely on a special server that it cannot access.
2. Ask it a question, or have it debug issues. Then watch as it remembers not a thing of the countless bits of tribal knowledge and business rules you have laborously fed into it and how it ignores everything you have every attempted to teach it and it just proceeds with brute-force stupidity.
3. Weep.

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.198 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

iTerm2

Additional Information

_No response_