Claude Code: The No-BS Guide to AI-Powered Development

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let the Robot Write My Code

Getting Started (The Part Where You Don’t Screw Up)

Install Claude Code. It’s stupidly easy. You’re using a terminal. You don’t need an IDE initially. If you can’t figure this out, maybe reconsider your career choices.

The Sacred claude.md File: Either write one or let Claude build it for you. Hell, steal one from someone smarter than you. But here’s the thing—this file is your new religion. You’ll be tweaking it constantly, especially when Claude pisses you off. Every annoyance is a learning opportunity. Document it, fix it, never suffer the same stupidity twice.

Context Management (The Thing That Will Bite You)

Claude Code has amnesia between sessions. Every new chat is a blank slate. This is why:

• Your claude.md file is EVERYTHING: It’s not just preferences—it’s your project’s institutional memory
• Include project structure: Directory layouts, key files, architecture decisions
• Document conventions: Naming schemes, code style, patterns you’re using
• Add MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers: Connect to your databases, APIs, and tools so Claude can actually DO things, not just hallucinate about them
• Use --save-dir: Keep your conversation history. Future you will thank present you

Pro tip: Start every session with “Read claude.md and review the project structure.” It’s like coffee for AI.

The Secret Sauce: Agents (aka Your New Best Friends)

Want 20% better code for literally zero extra effort? Use agents. These are just Claude instances that have been gaslit into believing they’re domain experts.

• Need frontend work? Use the “frontend engineer” agent
• Documentation? There’s an agent convinced it’s Hemingway meets Stack Overflow
• Security review? There’s an agent with 50 years of paranoia built in

Use Anthropic’s built-in agents. They’ve already done the hypnosis for you.

The Spec: Your Contract with the Future

Never start coding without a spec. But don’t write it yourself like some kind of caveman. Have a conversation with Claude to create it. Include these sections or regret it later:

• Test Suite: What success looks like, measurably
• Implementation Steps: The roadmap Claude will inevitably ignore then circle back to
• History: Because you’ll forget why you made that weird decision at 2 AM
• Usage: How actual humans will use this thing
• Current Status: Where we are in this glorious mess

If you’re building something complex and don’t want to cry later:

• Get Claude to educate you on best practices first (AI loves reinventing wheels—don’t let it)
• Review the spec like your job depends on it (it might)
• Make sure the test suite actually tests what you think it tests

When Things Get Complicated (They Will)

Time to get serious:

• Map your codebase: You can’t navigate what you can’t see
• Draw diagrams: Architecture, user flows, data flows—make Claude draw them all
  • Simple? Markdown with Mermaid
  • Complex? draw.io (but hold Claude’s hand or it’ll create abstract art)
• Create mockups: Pictures prevent a thousand rewrites

The Development Loop (Where the Magic Happens)

1. Write code per spec: Claude does the heavy lifting
2. Write tests: Also Claude, but watch it like a hawk
3. Tight testing loop: This is non-negotiable
   • Run tests
   • Watch them fail
   • Fix code
   • Repeat until green
   • If it’s a web app, give Claude eyes (screenshots, browser access)
   • Don’t let it be lazy. Don’t let it give up. Be the drill sergeant

The Iterative Reality Check:

• Don’t ask for the moon in one prompt: Break it down. “Add authentication” becomes “Add user model”, “Add login endpoint”, “Add JWT handling”
• Watch the context window: After ~100K tokens, Claude starts forgetting the beginning. Time to start a fresh chat with updated claude.md
• Checkpoint frequently: Working code → commit. Always. Claude might destroy it in the next iteration
• Use focused prompts: “Fix the login bug” not “Make the app better”

The Part Everyone Skips (Don’t Be Everyone)

“It works!” you cry. No, it doesn’t. You’re not done. Claude did the hard part; now you’re the janitor.

The Cleanup Checklist from Hell

✓ Commit (but you’re not done): Get that working code into git immediately. Have Claude write the commit message after reviewing git status meticulously.

✓ Update the spec: Reality has diverged from the plan. Document what actually happened.

✓ Code review: Same agent that wrote it can review it. Better yet, use the code review specialist agent. It has no friends and trusts no one.

✓ Refactor mercilessly: If development was painful, your code is probably a disaster. Claude is excellent at refactoring—use it.

✓ Security review: Use the paranoid security agent. It assumes everyone is trying to hack you (they are).

✓ Run external tools: Linters, security scanners, whatever your language offers. Don’t trust Claude alone.

✓ Delete the evidence:

• Find all files ending in “_v2”, “_improved”, “_final”, “_final_FINAL”
• Delete them with extreme prejudice
• Two versions of anything = future debugging nightmare

✓ Organize your mess:

• Did Claude turn your home directory into a war zone?
• Create proper subdirectories
• Use real names, not “test1”, “new_stuff”, “asdfasdf”

✓ Human review: Yes, you still need to look at the code yourself. Use VS Code’s diff view. Don’t know how? Ask Claude.

Common Pitfalls (Learn from Others’ Pain)

The “Just One More Thing” Trap: You got your feature working. Don’t immediately ask for another. Commit, refactor, test, THEN move on.

The Hallucination Special: Claude will confidently use packages that don’t exist. Always verify dependencies are real. npm install imaginary-perfect-library won’t work.

The Refactor Rampage: “Make this code better” without specific guidance = Russian roulette. Be specific: “Extract this into a reusable function” or “Add error handling here.”

The Lost Context Spiral: Claude forgot what you’re building and is now solving a different problem. Stop. Update claude.md. Start fresh chat.

The Yes-Man Problem: Claude agrees with you even when you’re wrong. Test your assumptions. “Is this the best approach?” often gets you “Yes!” when the answer should be “Hell no!”

The Golden Rules

1. For everything annoying, update claude.md: Today’s frustration is tomorrow’s automation
2. Use AI to fix AI’s mess: It created the problem, it can clean it up
3. Test suites are not optional: Unit tests, integration tests, end-to-end tests. Most should be simple, a few should be sadistic
4. Actually run the damn thing yourself: Don’t trust the test suite alone
5. Check into git properly: Not “stuff”, not “changes”, actual meaningful commits
6. Keep logs visible: --verbose flag is your friend. Watch what Claude is actually doing vs. what it claims
7. Version your prompts: That perfect prompt that got Claude to nail the algorithm? Save it in claude.md
8. Trust but verify: Claude says it fixed the bug? Check the actual code changes. Half the time it just added a comment saying “// fixed bug”

The Uncomfortable Truth

You’re not a programmer anymore. You’re a director. Claude is your brilliant but chaotic film crew. Your job is to:

• Set the vision (specs)
• Keep things on track (testing)
• Clean up the mess (refactoring)
• Take the credit (you’re welcome)

Final Wisdom

Every time Claude annoys you, ask yourself: “How do I never experience this particular flavor of hell again?” Then update claude.md.

This is how you evolve from someone who argues with an AI to someone who has trained an AI to read their mind.

Now stop reading and start building. The robots are waiting for orders.

Remember: Claude Code is powerful enough to build anything and dumb enough to build it wrong the first time. Plan accordingly.

Quick Reference (For When You’re Too Lazy to Read)

Essential Commands:

claude-code --save-dir ./conversations  # Save your sanity
claude-code --agent frontend-engineer   # Use specialized agents
claude-code --verbose                   # See what's actually happening

Magic Phrases That Actually Work:

• “Review claude.md first, then…” – Ensures context
• “Show me what changed with git diff” – Prevents gaslighting
• “Run the tests and show me the output” – No assumptions
• “Explain your approach before coding” – Catches bad ideas early
• “What could go wrong with this approach?” – Activates critical thinking

When to Start Over:

• Error messages are getting worse, not better
• Claude is apologizing more than coding
• The fix for the fix needs a fix
• You see more than 3 files ending in “_backup”
• Claude says “I’ll need to refactor everything”

Your Daily Mantra: Spec it. Test it. Commit it. Refactor it. Document it. Ship it.