Until 2.1.288, a nested CLAUDE.md or a path-scoped .claude/rules file waited for a Read in its scope. The changelog now says Write and Edit load them too, including a create.

The memory page was updated after that line (2026-10-02 21:31 UTC) and still talks about reads. Subdirectory files “are included when Claude reads files in those subdirectories.” Path-scoped rules “trigger when Claude reads files matching the pattern, not on every tool use.” I didn’t run 2.1.288.