Apothem vs raw Claude Code config
Hand-maintaining Claude Code's full native config tree versus managing it through Apothem's shared profile.
Claude Code (vendor Anthropic) keeps its native config under ~/.claude/.
Apothem's claude-code adapter is the full-surface adapter: it propagates the
shared corpus straight into that tree. This page contrasts hand-maintaining the
config against managing it with Apothem.
Effort comparison
| Task | Raw hand-config | Apothem-managed |
|---|---|---|
| Author rules, agents, commands, skills | Edit each surface in ~/.claude/ by hand | Write once in the shared corpus |
| Maintain output-styles and statuslines | Hand-edit per surface | Propagated from the shared corpus |
| Configure hooks | Hand-edit settings.json hook entries | Propagated (PreToolUse/PostToolUse/Stop/SessionStart) |
| Keep config aligned with other harnesses | Manual, per tool | Automatic on apothem update |
| Verify the config is correct | Manual inspection | apothem verify --harness claude-code |
What Apothem manages
The adapter propagates rules, agents, commands, skills, output-styles,
statuslines, and settings.json into ~/.claude/.
The native PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop, and SessionStart hooks are configured
from the shared corpus.
Apothem writes one sentinel-delimited managed block into your user-scope
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md. apothem update rewrites only that block and keeps your
text outside it. Project CLAUDE.md files are not touched. Apothem governs the
propagated surfaces around it.
Migration path
- Run
apothem profile initto create the shared profile if you have not yet. - Move your existing
~/.claude/rules, agents, commands, and skills into the shared corpus. - Leave
CLAUDE.mdin place. Apothem keeps your text outside its managed block and rewrites only that block. - Run
apothem install --harness claude-codeto propagate the corpus. - Run
apothem verify --harness claude-codeto confirm the config landed. - Use
apothem update --harness claude-codefor every later change.
Read next
Apothem vs other harness frameworks
How Apothem compares to single-harness config tools, dotfile managers, and manual per-tool configuration as approaches to managing harness setups.
Apothem vs raw Cursor config
Hand-maintaining Cursor's MDC rules under .cursor/rules/ versus rendering them from Apothem's shared profile.