A team's project CLAUDE.md says 'use Python 3.12+.' The src/legacy/ subdirectory has its own CLAUDE.md that says 'this code runs on Python 2.7 — do not suggest Python 3 syntax.' When Claude works in src/legacy/, what is the likely outcome?
Answer: Claude may produce inconsistent suggestions — both rules are active and they contradict each other
When two active CLAUDE.md files contradict each other, Claude has no defined resolution mechanism — it tries to honor both and may produce inconsistent results. Both files are loaded (composition), so both rules are active in src/legacy/. The correct design is to either keep subdirectory rules additive (not contradictory) or to explicitly note in the subdirectory file that it supersedes the project-level constraint for that directory. Claude will not refuse to work (D) — it will attempt to follow conflicting rules and may produce unpredictable behavior.