Domain 3 · 20% of the exam · ~12 of 60 questions
Claude Code Configuration & Workflows
CLAUDE.md hierarchy, slash commands and skills, path-specific rules, plan mode, iterative refinement, and CI/CD integration.
What this domain covers
The most concretely testable domain: much of it comes down to knowing exactly which file a setting belongs in and which scope wins when two of them disagree. Questions describe a team whose conventions are not being followed, or a repository where one directory needs different rules from the rest, and ask where the fix goes — user memory, project memory, a path-specific rule, a skill, or a command. The CI material is narrower than it looks and rewards knowing the flags precisely.
What the exam asks here
Drawn from the in-scope topic list in the official exam guide.
- CLAUDE.md hierarchy and scoping: user versus project versus directory, @import patterns, and modular organisation
- Path-specific rules in .claude/rules/ with glob patterns, for conventions that should only load in part of a repository
- Custom slash commands and skills: project versus user scope, context forking, allowed-tools and argument-hint frontmatter
- Plan mode versus direct execution: assessing complexity, architectural decisions, and when a single-file change needs neither
- Iterative refinement techniques and integrating Claude Code into CI/CD pipelines for review, tests and PR feedback
The 6 task statements in this domain
- 3.1CLAUDE.md Hierarchy, Scoping, and Modular OrganisationConfigure CLAUDE.md files with appropriate hierarchy, scoping, and modular organization
- 3.2Custom Slash Commands and SkillsCreate and configure custom slash commands and skills
- 3.3Path-Specific Rules for Conditional Convention LoadingApply path-specific rules for conditional convention loading
- 3.4Plan Mode vs Direct ExecutionDetermine when to use plan mode vs direct execution
- 3.5Iterative Refinement TechniquesApply iterative refinement techniques for progressive improvement
- 3.6CI/CD IntegrationIntegrate Claude Code into CI/CD pipelines
Common questions about Domain 3
How much of the CCAR-F exam covers Claude Code configuration?
20%, or about 12 of the 60 items — joint second-heaviest with Prompt Engineering & Structured Output. It is also the most concrete domain, so it tends to be the fastest to move from shaky to solid.
Which CLAUDE.md wins when user, project and directory files disagree?
They compose rather than compete: the more specific file layers on top of the more general one. The exam tests placement rather than precedence — given a convention, you should know whether it belongs in personal user memory, in project memory that is committed and shared, or in a directory-scoped file that should only apply to part of the repository.
When should Claude Code use plan mode instead of executing directly?
When the change is architectural, spans several files, or has a decision in it worth reviewing before any edit lands. A single-file fix with an obvious shape does not benefit — plan mode there is overhead. Exam questions usually describe the change and ask you to judge which side of that line it falls on.
What is the difference between a slash command and a skill?
A command is an explicit invocation the user types; a skill is loaded when its description matches what is being asked. Both can be scoped to a project or to the user, and both carry frontmatter — allowed-tools, argument-hint and context forking — which is the part the exam actually tests.