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    June 9, 2026

    CCA · Page 4 — Domain 3: Claude Code Configuration & Workflows

    Exam-ready notes for CCA Foundations Domain 3 (20%): CLAUDE.md hierarchy, commands & skills, plan mode, CI/CD integration, and the CLI cheatsheet.

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    Domain 3 — Claude Code Configuration & Workflows

    CCA Foundations course · Page 4 of 8 · ← Back to all courses · Weight: 20%. Mark complete at the bottom to advance.

    3.1 — CLAUDE.md Hierarchy · Core

    Four locations, most-specific wins:

    • ~/.claude/ — personal (NOT version-controlled)
    • .claude/ — team (version-controlled)
    • src/api/ (directory-level) — directory-specific
    • .claude/rules/*.md — glob-scoped rules (apply by file pattern across dirs)
    • @import nesting: max 5 levels.

    3.2 — Commands, Skills & Frontmatter · Core

    • context: fork — run a skill in an isolated sub-agent (keeps verbose output out of the main session).
    • allowed-tools — a security boundary for what a skill may do.
    • argument-hint — UX prompt for required parameters.
    • CLAUDE.md = always loaded (universal standards) vs skills = on-demand (task-specific).

    3.4 — Plan Mode vs Direct Execution · Core

    • Complexity known upfront → plan first, always (architecture, multi-file, multiple valid approaches).
    • Use the Explore subagent for heavy discovery (keeps the main context clean).
    • Direct execution = simple, well-understood, single-scope tasks.

    3.6 — CI/CD Integration · Core

    • -p flag is required in pipelines — without it the job hangs waiting for input.
    • Multi-pass for 14+ files (single pass causes attention dilution).
    • Use an independent review instance (a fresh session reviews better than the one that generated the code).
    • Feed prior findings back in to prevent duplicate comments.

    ⚠ Often-missed — Structural File Editing · Gap

    For JSON / structured data, use read_file + write_file — Claude understands the data structure natively, which is safer than text-based search-replace.

    CLI Cheatsheet · Core

    -p · --output-format json · --json-schema · --max-turns · --permission-mode plan · /memory · /compact · /branch · /btw · /context

    Exam reflexes for Domain 3

    • "CI pipeline hangs" → missing -p flag.
    • "Team standards location" → .claude/CLAUDE.md (always).
    • "Cross-directory conventions" → .claude/rules/ with glob frontmatter.
    • "Verbose skill output polluting context" → context: fork.
    • "Large PR review inconsistent" → multi-pass (per-file + integration) for 14+ files.

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    Claude Certified Architect — Foundations Prep· Page 4 of 8
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