claude-code-best-practice

practice makes claude perfect

Click on this badge to show the latest best practice

Click on this badge to show implementation in this repo

Click on this badge to see the Command → Agent → Skill orchestration workflow

Boris Cherny on X (tweet 1 · tweet 2 · tweet 3)

CONCEPTS

Feature	Location	Description
Commands	.claude/commands/<name>.md	Entry-point prompts for workflows — invoke with /command-name
Sub-Agents	.claude/agents/<name>.md	Custom agents with their own name, color, tools, permissions, and model
Skills	.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md	Reusable knowledge, workflows, and slash commands — load on-demand or invoke with /skill-name
Workflows	.claude/commands/weather-orchestrator.md
Hooks	.claude/hooks/	Deterministic scripts that run outside the agentic loop on specific events
MCP Servers	.claude/settings.json, .mcp.json	Model Context Protocol connections to external tools, databases, and APIs
Plugins	distributable packages	Bundles of skills, subagents, hooks, and MCP servers · Marketplaces
Settings	.claude/settings.json	Hierarchical configuration system · Permissions · Model Config · Output Styles · Sandboxing · Keybindings · Fast Mode
Status Line	.claude/settings.json	Customizable status bar showing context usage, model, cost, and session info
Memory	CLAUDE.md, .claude/rules/, ~/.claude/rules/, ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/	Persistent context via CLAUDE.md files and @path imports · Auto Memory · Rules
Checkpointing	automatic (git-based)	Automatic tracking of file edits with rewind (Esc Esc or /rewind) and targeted summarization
CLI Startup Flags	claude [flags]	Command-line flags, subcommands, and environment variables for launching Claude Code
AI Terms		Agentic Engineering · Context Engineering · Vibe Coding
Best Practices		Official best practices · Prompt Engineering · Extend Claude Code

🔥 Hot

Feature	Location	Description
Scheduled Tasks	/loop, cron tools	Run prompts on a recurring schedule (up to 3 days), set one-time reminders, poll deployments and builds
Agent Teams	built-in (env var)	Multiple agents working in parallel on the same codebase with shared task coordination
Voice Mode	built-in command	speak to prompt - /voice to activate
Remote Control	built-in command	Continue local sessions from any device — phone, tablet, or browser · Headless Mode
Git Worktrees	built-in	Isolated git branches for parallel development — each agent gets its own working copy
Ralph Wiggum Loop	plugin	Autonomous development loop for long-running tasks — iterates until completion

See orchestration-workflow for implementation details of Command → Agent → Skill pattern.

claude
/weather-orchestrator

DEVELOPMENT WORKFLOWS

🔥 Hot

• Cross-Model (Claude Code + Codex) Workflow
• RPI
• Ralph Wiggum Loop

Others

• Github Speckit · ★ 74k
• obra/superpowers · ★ 72k
• OpenSpec OPSX · ★ 28k
• get-shit-done (GSD) · ★ 25k
• Andrej Karpathy (Founding Member, OpenAI) Workflow · ★ 7k
• Brian Casel (Creator of Agent OS) - 2026 Workflow · ★ 4k - it's overkill in 2026
• Human Layer RPI - Research Plan Implement · ★ 1.5k
• Boris Cherny (Creator of Claude Code) - Feb 2026 Workflow
• Peter Steinberger (Creator of OpenClaw) Workflow

TIPS AND TRICKS

■ Planning (2)

• always start with plan mode. ask Claude to interview you; ask the user a question
• always make a phase-wise gated plan, with each phase having multiple tests (unit, automation, integration). use cross-model to review your plan

■ Workflows (12)

• CLAUDE.md should target under 200 lines per file. 60 lines in humanlayer (still not 100% guaranteed).
• use multiple CLAUDE.md for monorepos — ancestor + descendant loading
• use .claude/rules/ to split large instructions
• use commands for your workflows instead of sub-agents
• have feature specific sub-agents (extra context) with skills (progressive disclosure) instead of general qa, backend engineer.
• memory.md, constitution.md does not guarantee anything
• avoid agent dumb zone, do manual /compact at max 50%. Use /clear to reset context mid-session if switching to a new task
• vanilla cc is better than any workflows with smaller tasks
• use skills in subfolders for monorepos
• use /model to select model and reasoning, /context to see context usage, /usage to check plan limits, /extra-usage to configure overflow billing, /config to configure settings
• always use thinking mode true (to see reasoning) and Output Style Explanatory (to see detailed output with ★ Insight boxes) in /config for better understanding of Claude's decisions
• use ultrathink keyword in prompts for high effort reasoning
• /rename important sessions (e.g. [TODO - refactor task]) and /resume them later
• use Esc Esc or /rewind to undo when Claude goes off-track instead of trying to fix it in the same context
• commit often — try to commit at least once per hour, as soon as task is completed, commit.

■ Workflows Advanced (6)

• use ASCII diagrams a lot to understand your architecture
• agent teams with tmux and git worktrees for parallel development
• use /loop for recurring monitoring — poll deployments, babysit PRs, check builds (runs up to 3 days)
• use Ralph Wiggum plugin for long-running autonomous tasks
• /permissions with wildcard syntax (Bash(npm run *), Edit(/docs/**)) instead of dangerously-skip-permissions
• /sandbox to reduce permission prompts with file and network isolation

■ Debugging (5)

• make it a habit to take screenshots and share with Claude whenever you are stuck with any issue
• use mcp (Claude in Chrome, Playwright, Chrome DevTools) to let claude see chrome console logs on its own
• always ask claude to run the terminal (you want to see logs of) as a background task for better debugging
• /doctor to diagnose installation, authentication, and configuration issues
• error during compaction can be resolved by using /model to select a 1M token model, then running /compact
• use a cross-model for QA — e.g. Codex for plan and implementation review

■ Utilities (5)

• iTerm/Ghostty/tmux terminals instead of IDE (VS Code/Cursor)
• Wispr Flow for voice prompting (10x productivity)
• claude-code-voice-hooks for claude feedback
• status line for context awareness and fast compacting
• explore settings.json features like Plans Directory, Spinner Verbs for a personalized experience

■ Daily (3)

• update Claude Code daily and start your day by reading the changelog
• follow r/ClaudeAI, r/ClaudeCode on Reddit
• follow Boris, Thariq, Cat, Lydia, Noah on X

• Always use plan mode, give Claude a way to verify, use /code-review | 27/Dec/25 ● Tweet
• Ask Claude to interview you using AskUserQuestion tool (Thariq) | 28/Dec/25 ● Tweet
• Boris setup - 5 tips | 03/Jan/26 ● Tweet
• 10 tips for using claude code by team itself | 01/Feb/26 ● Tweet
• 12 ways how people are customizing their claudes | 12/Feb/26 ● Tweet
• Git Worktrees - 5 ways how boris is using | 21 Feb 2026 ● Tweet
• Seeing like an Agent - lessons from building Claude Code (Thariq) | 28 Feb 2026 ● Tweet
• /loop — schedule recurring tasks for up to 3 days | 07 Mar 2026 ● Tweet

☠️ STARTUPS / BUSINESSES

If you have answers, do let me know at shanraisshan@gmail.com

Memory & Instructions (4)

1. What exactly should you put inside your CLAUDE.md — and what should you leave out?
2. If you already have a CLAUDE.md, is a separate constitution.md or rules.md actually needed?
3. How often should you update your CLAUDE.md, and how do you know when it's become stale?
4. Why does Claude still ignore CLAUDE.md instructions — even when they say MUST in all caps? (reddit)

Agents, Skills & Workflows (6)

1. When should you use a command vs an agent vs a skill — and when is vanilla Claude Code just better?
2. How often should you update your agents, commands, and workflows as models improve?
3. Does giving your subagent a detailed persona improve quality? What does a "perfect persona/prompt" for research/QA subagent look like?
4. Should you rely on Claude Code's built-in plan mode — or build your own planning command/agent that enforces your team's workflow?
5. If you have a personal skill (e.g., /implement with your coding style), how do you incorporate community skills (e.g., /simplify) without conflicts — and who wins when they disagree?
6. Are we there yet? Can we convert an existing codebase into specs, delete the code, and have AI regenerate the exact same code from those specs alone?

Specs & Documentation (3)

1. Should every feature in your repo have a spec as a markdown file?
2. How often do you need to update specs so they don't become obsolete when a new feature is implemented?
3. When implementing a new feature, how do you handle the ripple effect on specs for other features?

REPORTS