import-outside-root rule: what it flags and the fix

What it catches#

@import reaches outside the project.

An @path import that reaches outside the project: a home-folder path such as @~/.claude/prefs.md, or a relative path that climbs above the root.

Why it matters#

Claude Code asks for approval before loading external imports, and teammates will not have the file.

Bad example#

# CLAUDE.md

@~/.claude/my-preferences.md

Claude Code treats an import outside the working directory as external and shows an approval dialog the first time; if the person declines, the import stays off. Teammates do not have the file at all, so the project instructions differ from one machine to the next.

Good example#

# CLAUDE.md

@docs/conventions.md

Personal preferences go in ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md, which loads for every project without a dialog, or in CLAUDE.local.md, which is gitignored.

How to fix#

Move the imported content into the repository, or move the import to a user-scope file (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md, ~/.claude/rules/) where external imports are trusted as your own configuration.

Suppress or configure#

For one finding, put a comment on the line above it. The reason after -- is optional but worth writing:

<!-- asitis-disable-next-line import-outside-root -- why this one is fine -->

For a whole file:

<!-- asitis-disable-file import-outside-root -- why this file is an exception -->

For every file, turn it off or change its severity in .asitisrc.json:

{ "rules": { "import-outside-root": "off" } }

A .asitisrc.json overrides entry limits a change to some paths, and a baseline (asitis lint --format json --write-baseline) accepts today's findings so only new ones fail the build.

Source#

Claude Code docs: How Claude remembers your project, read on 14 October 2026.

import-outside-root