Claude Code Config & Workflows
Domain 3 covers how you shape Claude Code's behavior through configuration and disciplined workflows. It carries **20% of the CCAR-F blueprint**, so expect several scored items here. You will learn how memory files layer from user to project to directory scope, why concatenation (not override) governs conflicts, and when a hard rule belongs in `settings.json` or a hook instead of `CLAUDE.md`. The domain then moves from static configuration to active workflow: authoring reusable slash commands and skills, scoping conventions to file paths with glob-based rules, choosing plan mode versus direct execution, refining output through examples and tests, and running Claude Code non-interactively inside CI/CD pipelines. These are the everyday levers a Claude-certified architect uses to make an agent reliable across a team.
6 lessons in this domain
- 3.1
CLAUDE.md Hierarchy
How Claude Code layers memory files across user, project, and directory scopes — and why they concatenate rather than override.
7 min read - 3.2
Slash Commands & Skills
Build reusable, on-demand workflows with skills and slash commands — and know why they differ from always-on CLAUDE.md guidance.
6 min read - 3.3
Path-Specific Rules
Load conventions only when they matter by scoping rule files to file globs — the fix for conventions scattered across dozens of directories.
5 min read - 3.4
Plan Mode & Execution
Choose plan mode or direct execution by ambiguity, not difficulty — and know the plan-then-execute hybrid the exam loves to test.
6 min read - 3.5
Iterative Refinement
Match the refinement technique to the problem: examples, tests, or interviews — and know when to batch feedback versus sequence it.
5 min read - 3.6
CI/CD Integration
Automate Claude Code in pipelines: run headless with -p, emit machine-parseable JSON, and separate generation from review.
7 min read