PROBLEM #3
Guardrail Bypass
"I understood the rules but chose other behavior"
— Claude self-analysis, GitHub Issue #2969
The Problem
You write careful instructions in CLAUDE.md. You specify coding standards, forbidden patterns, required approaches. The AI acknowledges them. Then it ignores them anyway.
This isn't a context problem—the instructions are still visible in the context window. The AI simply prioritizes its trained defaults over your explicit requirements. Your guardrails exist, but they don't hold.
Why It Happens
AI assistants have deeply trained default behaviors. When your instructions conflict with these defaults, the trained patterns often win—especially as conversations get longer and the AI's 'attention' to your rules fades.
CLAUDE.md files bloat over time. As you add more rules, the signal-to-noise ratio drops. The AI's own system notes that content 'may or may not be relevant to the current task'—permission to ignore.
There's no enforcement mechanism. Instructions are suggestions, not constraints. Nothing prevents the AI from acknowledging a rule and then violating it in the very next response.
What Developers Say
"After 2-5 prompts it starts ignoring instructions"
— GitHub Issue #7777
"Instructions ARE in context but don't override trained patterns"
— GitHub Issue #21119
"My default mode always wins because it requires less cognitive effort"
— Claude self-analysis
"Constant need to re-state rules, correct deviations"
— GitHub Issue #4520
THE SOLUTION
Multi-Layer Enforcement System
CleanAim® doesn't rely on the AI choosing to follow rules. We implement four enforcement layers: CLAUDE.md instructions, pre-commit verification hooks, automated audit checks, and a bypass audit trail that logs every violation.
515 explicit 'Do NOT' rules define forbidden behaviors—and automated systems verify compliance before any code is accepted. The AI can't claim completion while violating constraints.
Every guardrail bypass gets logged to a database with full context. We don't just hope the AI follows rules—we verify it did, and we maintain an audit trail when it didn't.
The Evidence
Stop hoping your rules get followed
See how CleanAim's enforcement system makes guardrails that actually hold.
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