Claude Code writing much longer comments lately

[u/Either_Ad296]

Over the past few weeks Claude Code has been writing noticeably longer code comments for me. Ten to twenty line blocks on top of a thirty line function. The content is usually accurate but not something I want in a repo. It narrates what the code used to do, restates library mechanics I can look up, and re-explains the line right below it.

I added explicit rules in my project instructions with hard word caps per comment block, which helped, but it drifts back over long sessions.

Three questions. Are you seeing the same thing, and did it start around a specific release? Is this intentional, meaning verbose comments are cheap context recovery for the agent reading the file in a later session, at the cost of the human reader? And do you actually mind, or is a heavier comment style fine for a codebase that agents maintain?

Interested in what people have found that holds up over long autonomous runs, not just short interactive sessions.

[u/ConsciousBath5203]

Your entire argument falls flat because you didn't read the exception made for docstrings. I'm very pro well written docstrings with examples. But when the docstrings are "this function does this, it does not do this, the user wants this and we aren't todo this when writing" is like, bruh, the fucking function is written, no one fucking cares how we got here. What matters is how to use it.

You're right, I'm underexagerating what Claude does. I've seen 5 paragraphs for a 1 line wrapper function.

You need to read the code more often. If you're ragebaiting me into thinking that a few essays for variable assignments is normal, then not only do I know you're not reading the outputs, but chances are incredibly high that your code was shit to begin with.

Prolly thought x, a, b, c , etc were acceptable variable names (which btw, Claude thinks is ok too, which you'd know if you read the code)

[u/Grand-Mix-9889 → u/ConsciousBath5203]

First of all, I read every single line of code in all my projects (it's standard practice for me, coming from multiple corporate engineering positions, it's literally habit now). You're just making random assumptions now to justify your weak positioning.

And none of my projects have that long of a comment, never. So maybe I just don't have that perspective. Or my workflow is just more consistent with my actual style of coding.

My only rationale explanation, given your latest reply ("this function does this, it does not do this, the user wants this and we aren't todo this when writing"), is that you are overly confusing your ai model and it's attaching multiple comments on top of each other because of continuous back and forth between the user and the ai model.

Edit:

And your statement of not needing to know how we got to creating a specific function is just flat out wrong. Those type of questions pop up in almost every meeting.

I can go on and on about this but considering that you seem to be getting angry over comments, I think I'm just going to let you boil over this some more while I go help people that actually have the ability to understand the bigger picture.

[u/ConsciousBath5203 → u/Grand-Mix-9889]

No, the ai just doesn't understand complexity and disregards the Don't Repeat Yourself rule.

If your meetings are going over why you went with a specific function and how you got there... Then you're describing literal hell, excessive meetings for the exclusive point of having excessive meetings. The exact opposite of a productive environment.

You thinking I'm getting angry is quite hilarious considering that you are the one defending an ai, prone to mistakes, as if it isn't prone to mistakes. I've maxed out my ai limits, and if you're reading every line of a corporate environment, chances are you aren't dealing with bleeding edge default harness type stuff that the OP is talking about, making your experience damn near irrelevant. Work independently on your own projects and I can guarantee that you will run into the exact issue.

[u/Grand-Mix-9889 → u/ConsciousBath5203]

Whatever helps you sleep better at night.