Use Claude Code to Check a Folder of Briefs Before You Share It

A folder can look complete while half its briefs are missing an owner, source, or approval step. Before you share it, use Claude Code to check the structure without letting it rewrite anything.

This guide describes a documentation-based workflow. The sample files and report are illustrative. No Claude Code run is claimed.

What you will create

You will create a small Markdown folder and a report that lists missing sections. Claude Code will inspect the files but will not edit them.

Level: Advanced. You need Claude Code installed and authenticated, a terminal, and permission to work on a copied folder. The official overview describes Claude Code as a coding tool that can work with files and tools. Start with non-sensitive sample files.

If you do not use a terminal, the no-code alternative is the same checklist in a regular chat: paste one brief at a time and ask the model to return only missing sections. You will need to compare the files yourself.

Prepare the sample folder

Create this structure in a scratch directory:

brief-check/
  briefs/
    launch.md
    renewal.md
  CHECKS.md

Put this in briefs/launch.md:

# Launch brief

## Owner
Mina

## Goal
Prepare the customer announcement for review.

## Sources
Product note, dated 2026-10-08

## Approval
Pending product review

Put this in briefs/renewal.md:

# Renewal brief

## Goal
Prepare the account review.

## Sources
Contract summary, date not recorded

Put this in CHECKS.md:

# Brief checks

Every brief must contain these headings:
- Owner
- Goal
- Sources
- Approval

The checker must report the file path and missing headings. It must not edit a brief.

Run the check

Open a terminal in the brief-check directory.
Start Claude Code in that directory. Keep the folder limited to the sample files for the first run.
Paste this bounded instruction:

Read CHECKS.md and inspect every Markdown file under briefs/.

Do not edit, rename, delete, or create files inside briefs/.
Do not run network commands or access credentials.

For each file, check whether every required heading in CHECKS.md exists.
Return a Markdown report with:
- file path
- present headings
- missing headings
- a short note when a heading exists but its value is blank or visibly incomplete

After the report, list the exact files you inspected. Stop after producing the report.

Review the proposed report in the terminal. Do not approve a write action if Claude Code asks to edit the briefs.
Save the report yourself as review-report.md only after checking that it names both sample files and reports Approval as missing from renewal.md.

Expected illustrative report

# Brief review report

## briefs/launch.md
Missing headings: none

## briefs/renewal.md
Missing headings: Owner, Approval

## Files inspected
- briefs/launch.md
- briefs/renewal.md

This is an editor-written expected result based on the sample input. It is not output captured from Claude Code.

Acceptance checks

The review is ready when:

the report names every file under briefs/
launch.md has no missing heading
renewal.md is flagged for Owner and Approval
the original files are byte-for-byte unchanged
no credentials, network calls, or write actions were approved

Troubleshooting

Claude Code starts in the wrong directory. Run a directory listing before the task and confirm that CHECKS.md and briefs/ are visible. Stop if the path is not the scratch folder.

The report skips a file. Ask for the exact file list first, then run the check again with that list. Do not assume an empty result means every file passed.

Claude Code asks to edit a brief. Decline the permission. The task is read-only. If you later want edits, make a separate request with an explicit file allowlist and review the diff before accepting it.

Limits and safer use

A heading check cannot tell you whether a source is accurate or whether an approval is genuine. It only checks the structure you define. Work on a copy, keep secrets outside the folder, and inspect the diff before any future write. The current Claude Code surface and permission prompts can change, so confirm the installed version’s documentation before using this in a live repository.

For a no-terminal workflow that produces a reviewable work brief, see Use ChatGPT Work to Keep a Multi-Step Task From Drifting.

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Sources

Evidence label: Documentation-based guide with an illustrative report. No Claude Code execution, output, screenshot, or productivity result is claimed.