Claude Code: what it remembers, who owns it, and what it costs
thecontinuitylayer.com/coding-agents/claude-codeAnthropic's agentic coding tool: reads your codebase, edits files and runs commands from the terminal, an IDE, the desktop app or the browser.
- 1Yes
Does Claude Code remember across sessions?
Yes, by Anthropic's own page.
Two mechanisms carry knowledge across sessions: CLAUDE.md files you write, and auto memory notes Claude writes itself; both load at every session start.
Yes means: Persistent instructions or stored memory carry into a new session without you pasting them again.
- 2Yes
Can you see what Claude Code remembered?
Yes, by Anthropic's own page.
/memory lists the loaded CLAUDE.md, CLAUDE.local.md and rules files and opens the auto-memory folder; auto memory is a MEMORY.md index plus topic files you can read.
Yes means: A file or panel lists the stored memory.
- 3Yes
Can you edit Claude Code's memory?
Yes, by Anthropic's own page.
Auto memory files are plain Markdown you can edit or delete at any time; /memory opens any of them in your editor.
Yes means: The memory is editable by you.
- 4Yes
Can you delete or turn off Claude Code's memory?
Yes, by Anthropic's own page.
Auto memory is on by default locally and can be turned off through /memory, the autoMemoryEnabled setting or an environment variable; the files can be deleted.
Yes means: A documented way to delete it or switch it off.
- 5Yes
Does Claude Code keep memory in a file you own?
Yes, by Anthropic's own page.
CLAUDE.md lives in the repository or your home folder; auto memory lives under ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/ and stays on your machine, not synced.
Yes means: The memory lives in a plain file on your machine or in your repository.
- 6Yes
Does Claude Code read a format other tools read?
Yes, by Anthropic's own page.
Reads AGENTS.md directly as project instructions when no CLAUDE.md is present; /init and /import can bring in .cursorrules, .windsurfrules and .clinerules.
Yes means: It reads a shared convention such as AGENTS.md, so the same file works elsewhere.
- 7Partly
Does Claude Code use your code for training by default?
Partly, by Anthropic's own page.
Consumer plans (Free, Pro, Max, including Claude Code) can be used for training when the "Help improve Claude" setting is on; the page does not state the default. Commercial plans and the API are not used for training unless opted in. Opt out in claude.ai Settings, Privacy.
Yes means: Here no is the good answer: the maker's page says your data is not used for training. Yes means it is unless you opt out; partly means it depends on the plan or the page does not give the default.
- 8Yes
What does Claude Code cost?
Yes, by Anthropic's own page.
A free plan exists but does not include Claude Code; Pro at $20 a month is the entry tier with Claude Code, then Max at $100 and Ultra at $200.
Yes means: A free tier exists and the entry paid price is published.
What these grades say about continuity, and what they do not.
Every grade on this site is read from the maker's own pages. The Continuity Framework asks five things of any system that carries state: that it carry, govern, evolve, prove and forget. These tests reach carry, govern, prove and forget; they do not reach evolve, which no maker's page documents in a gradeable way. A high letter is a good coding agent, not a continuity layer.
- C1 RemembersCarry
- Remembering across sessions is question C1: state outlives the session that created it.
- C2 See itProve
- Being able to see the stored memory is the smallest form of question P1: the owner can inspect what is carried.
- C3 Edit itGovern
- An editable memory means the owner, not only the agent, has write authority (question G1, in part).
- C4 Delete itForget
- Deleting or switching off memory is rung 5 of the erasure ladder for the store the agent keeps; summaries and indexes it built are not covered unless documented. Rung 5 of the erasure ladder: delete the record.
- C5 Your fileCarry
- Memory in a file you own is portability by construction: question C3 answered without an export.
- C6 PortableCarry
- Reading a shared convention such as AGENTS.md is question C2: the same file works when the agent changes.
- C7 TrainingGovern
- Not training on your code by default is a scope boundary on the maker's side: what leaves the record and where it may go.
License as stated: Not stated in the docs; no open-source license named.. Every grade above is read from Anthropic's own page on the day shown. If a page has changed, tell us.