diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 90afbd2..cad1d52 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ Only two branches exist in this repository: **`main`** and **`development`**. No
 
 In practice: check out `development`, do the work, push to `development`, PR `development` → `main` when ready to release.
 
+**When a branch isn't visible locally:** always run `git fetch origin <branch-name>` before concluding a branch doesn't exist. Never create a new branch if the user names one — fetch it from the remote first.
+
 ## Unreleased changelog
 
 `docs/unreleased.md` is a living document that tracks every fix or feature on `development` that has not yet been merged to `main`. Keep it current: whenever a change lands on `development`, add or update an entry in `unreleased.md` in the same commit (or a follow-up commit to `development`). When a batch of changes is merged to `main` and released, clear the entries that were released and leave the file in place for the next round of work.