ClaudeCode Best Practices & Pro Tips

After working with thousands of developers using ClaudeCode, we've identified patterns and practices that consistently lead to better results. This guide shares battle-tested strategies for maximizing your productivity with ClaudeCode.

Core Principles

1. Context is King

The quality of Claude's assistance is directly proportional to the context you provide.

Good:

You: Add error handling to this function

Better:

You: I have a function that processes user payments. Add comprehensive
error handling that:
- Catches network timeouts
- Handles invalid payment data
- Logs errors to our monitoring system
- Returns user-friendly error messages

Best:

You: I'm working on a payment processing function in our e-commerce app.
Tech stack: Node.js, Stripe API, MongoDB.

Current issue: Function crashes on network timeouts.

Requirements:
- Add retry logic for transient failures (max 3 retries)
- Validate payment data before processing
- Log to Winston with error severity levels
- Return standardized error responses per our API spec
- Follow our existing error handling patterns in utils/errors.js

Here's the current function:
[paste code]

2. Iterative Refinement

Don't expect perfection on the first try. Claude works best when you iterate.

Workflow:

1. Start with a clear but general request
2. Review the initial response
3. Provide specific feedback on what to improve
4. Iterate until you get the desired result

Example:

You: Write a function to validate email addresses

Claude: [provides basic regex validation]

You: Good start. Now add:
- Support for internationalized emails
- Check for disposable email providers
- Return detailed validation errors

Claude: [provides enhanced version]

You: Perfect! Now add TypeScript types and JSDoc comments

Effective Prompting Strategies

The "Why" Before the "What"

Always explain the purpose before requesting implementation.

Don't:

You: Create a caching layer

Do:

You: We're experiencing slow load times on our product page because
we're querying the database for every request. Create a Redis caching
layer to cache product data for 5 minutes.

Use the "Constraint-First" Approach

List constraints and requirements upfront:

You: I need to refactor this authentication module.

Constraints:
- Must remain backward compatible with existing sessions
- Can't introduce new dependencies
- Performance can't degrade
- Must pass all existing tests

The module is in auth/index.js. Let's review it first.

The "Example-Driven" Method

Provide examples of what you want:

You: Transform our API responses to match this format:

Current:
{ user_id: 123, user_name: "John" }

Desired:
{ userId: 123, userName: "John" }

Apply this transformation to all our user endpoints.

Workflow Optimization

1. Project Context Files

Create a CLAUDE.md file in your project root:

# Project: E-commerce Platform

## Tech Stack
- Frontend: React 18 + TypeScript + Tailwind
- Backend: Node.js + Express + PostgreSQL
- Testing: Jest + React Testing Library
- CI/CD: GitHub Actions

## Coding Standards
- Use functional components with hooks
- Prefer TypeScript strict mode
- Follow ESLint rules in .eslintrc
- Write tests for all new features
- Max line length: 100 characters

## Project Structure
/src
  /components - React components
  /hooks - Custom React hooks
  /services - API services
  /utils - Utility functions
  /types - TypeScript types

## Important Patterns
- Use React Query for data fetching
- Centralize error handling in ErrorBoundary
- Follow atomic design principles
- Use Zod for runtime validation

ClaudeCode will automatically read this file and follow your standards.

2. Session Management

Save productive sessions for future reference:

# During a session
You: /save refactor-auth-module

# Later
claudecode /load refactor-auth-module

3. Multi-File Operations

Work efficiently across multiple files:

You: I need to add authentication to our app. Here's the plan:

1. /read src/app.js
2. /read src/routes/users.js
3. /read src/middleware/auth.js

Let's review these files first, then I'll explain the changes.

Code Quality Practices

1. Request Tests Alongside Code

Always ask for tests when requesting new code:

You: Create a user registration function with the following validations:
- Email format validation
- Password strength requirements (min 8 chars, uppercase, number, special char)
- Username uniqueness check

Also write comprehensive Jest tests covering:
- Valid registration
- All validation failures
- Database error scenarios

2. Ask for Code Reviews

Use Claude as a code reviewer:

You: /read src/payment-processor.js

Please review this code for:
- Security vulnerabilities
- Performance issues
- Error handling gaps
- Potential edge cases
- Code style consistency

3. Refactoring Strategy

Approach refactoring systematically:

You: I want to refactor this legacy code. Let's proceed in phases:

Phase 1: Analyze current code and identify issues
Phase 2: Propose refactoring strategy
Phase 3: Implement changes incrementally
Phase 4: Ensure tests pass at each step

Let's start with phase 1. /read legacy/old-module.js

Security Best Practices

1. Never Commit Sensitive Data

You: Help me set up environment variables for:
- Database connection string
- API keys
- JWT secret

Create a .env.example file with placeholders, but don't include actual values.

2. Security-First Development

You: Review this user input handling for security issues:
- SQL injection vulnerabilities
- XSS attack vectors
- CSRF protection
- Input sanitization gaps

/read src/controllers/user.js

3. Dependency Security

You: Analyze our package.json and identify:
- Outdated dependencies
- Known security vulnerabilities
- Unused packages that can be removed

Performance Optimization

1. Profile Before Optimizing

You: Our dashboard page loads slowly. Let's diagnose:

1. /read src/pages/Dashboard.jsx
2. Identify potential performance bottlenecks
3. Suggest specific optimizations (memoization, lazy loading, etc.)
4. Prioritize by impact

2. Database Query Optimization

You: This query is slow on large datasets:

[paste SQL query]

Please:
- Explain what's causing the slowness
- Suggest index optimizations
- Rewrite the query for better performance
- Show the execution plan

Debugging Strategies

1. Error Analysis

You: I'm getting this error:

[paste error message and stack trace]

Context:
- User action that triggered it
- Environment (production/development)
- Recent changes

Help me:
1. Understand the root cause
2. Identify the problematic code
3. Suggest a fix
4. Prevent similar issues

2. Systematic Debugging

You: Feature X isn't working. Let's debug systematically:

1. Verify expected vs actual behavior
2. Review relevant code files
3. Check for console errors
4. Test edge cases
5. Identify root cause

Expected: [describe]
Actual: [describe]

Git Workflow Integration

1. Commit Messages

You: Help me write a commit message for these changes:

Changes:
- Refactored authentication module
- Added rate limiting
- Fixed session timeout bug

Follow conventional commits format.

2. Pull Request Descriptions

You: Generate a PR description for:

Feature: User profile page redesign

Changed files: [list files]

Include:
- Summary of changes
- Technical approach
- Testing performed
- Screenshots (describe what to include)

Team Collaboration

1. Documentation Generation

You: Generate comprehensive documentation for this API:

/read src/api/users.js

Include:
- Endpoint descriptions
- Request/response schemas
- Authentication requirements
- Example requests with curl
- Error codes

2. Code Handoff

You: I'm handing off this feature to another developer. Create:

1. Overview of what was implemented
2. Architecture decisions and rationale
3. Setup instructions
4. Known issues/limitations
5. Next steps/TODOs

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Vague Requests

Don't:

You: Fix this bug

Do:

You: The login button doesn't respond when clicked.
Browser: Chrome 120
Error console: [paste errors]
Expected: Should submit form and redirect to dashboard
/read src/components/LoginForm.jsx

2. Ignoring Context Limits

If you hit context limits:

You: /reset
You: Let's focus just on the authentication module now.
Previous context: We were refactoring the user management system.
/read src/auth/index.js

3. Not Verifying Suggestions

Always verify Claude's suggestions:

• Run tests
• Review code changes
• Check for edge cases
• Test in your environment

4. Overreliance on AI

Use Claude as a collaborator, not a replacement for understanding:

• Learn from the code Claude writes
• Ask for explanations
• Understand the why, not just the what

Advanced Techniques

1. Custom Workflows with MCP

Create project-specific MCP servers:

You: Let's create an MCP server that:
- Connects to our internal API
- Fetches deployment status
- Retrieves error logs
- Checks service health

2. Template Generation

You: Create a template generator for React components that includes:
- TypeScript interface
- PropTypes
- CSS module
- Storybook story
- Jest test file

Save this as a reusable script.

3. Batch Operations

You: I need to update all our API endpoints to use async/await
instead of callbacks.

Let's process them one directory at a time:
1. List all files in src/api
2. For each file, review and refactor
3. Run tests after each change

Productivity Tips

1. Keyboard Shortcuts

Master these ClaudeCode shortcuts:

• Ctrl+C: Cancel operation
• Ctrl+D: Exit
• ↑/↓: Command history
• Tab: Autocomplete
• Ctrl+R: Search history

2. Alias Common Commands

Create shell aliases:

alias cc="claudecode"
alias ccs="claudecode /save"
alias ccl="claudecode /load"

3. Use Multiple Sessions

Run different ClaudeCode sessions for different tasks:

# Terminal 1: Feature development
claudecode

# Terminal 2: Code review
claudecode

# Terminal 3: Debugging
claudecode

Learning from Claude

Ask for Explanations

You: Explain this code like I'm learning React for the first time:
[paste code]

Break down:
- What each part does
- Why it's structured this way
- Common patterns being used
- How to modify it safely

Request Alternatives

You: Show me 3 different ways to implement this feature, with pros/cons of each:
[describe feature]

Deep Dives

You: I want to understand how React hooks work under the hood.
Explain:
- How useState tracks state
- The dependency array in useEffect
- Why hooks can't be conditional
- How React determines when to re-render

Measuring Success

Track your productivity improvements:

Before ClaudeCode:

• Time spent on boilerplate
• Code review iterations
• Bug discovery time
• Documentation coverage

After ClaudeCode:

• Faster implementation
• Fewer review cycles
• Earlier bug detection
• Better documentation

Conclusion

Mastering ClaudeCode isn't about knowing all the commands—it's about developing effective collaboration patterns with AI. Start with these best practices, experiment with your own workflows, and continuously refine your approach.

Remember:

• Context is everything - Provide detailed, specific information
• Iterate, don't expect perfection - Refine through conversation
• Stay involved - Understand the code, don't just copy it
• Share learnings - Help the community improve

Additional Resources

• Getting Started Guide - Setup and basics
• MCP Integration - Extend ClaudeCode
• Command Reference - All available commands
• Community Patterns - Learn from others

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What are your best practices? Share them with the community and help improve this guide!