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Use Claude Code as a supervised terminal-based coding agent: first check that it understands your repository, then delegate one bounded change, review its proposed edits, and run your own checks. This seven-day routine builds those habits before adding persistent project context or automation.
Day 1: How do I get started with Claude Code?
Claude Code is Anthropic’s agentic coding tool for working with code from a terminal. Begin with Anthropic’s current setup instructions for installation, authentication, and updates; the supported methods and requirements can change, so use the live page rather than relying on a fixed checklist here. Anthropic warns against running sudo npm install -g and recommends checking the installation with claude doctor.
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- Choose an installation and authentication option listed in the current setup guide.
- Open a terminal in the repository you intend to work on.
- Launch Claude Code and complete the authentication flow.
- Run
claude doctorto check the installation.
Keep the first session low-risk. Don’t start by asking for broad changes or granting wider access than the task requires. Anthropic’s security guidance explains permission controls and stresses that you remain responsible for reviewing proposed code and commands.
Day 2: How do I use Claude Code in an existing codebase?
Ask a read-oriented question before asking for edits. This gives you a chance to assess whether the tool has found the right parts of the repository and understood the project’s conventions. Anthropic’s workflow guidance covers codebase exploration and common engineering tasks.
- Ask for a brief map of the application’s major components and how they relate.
- Ask it to trace a request or data path, naming the entry point and the code it passes through.
- Ask where a behavior is tested and which tests appear relevant to a particular area.
Check the answer against the repository: open the referenced files, follow the path yourself, and verify that the tests exist. If the explanation is off, narrow the question or point it toward the relevant directory. Treat these prompts as ways to investigate, not as guarantees that the tool will find every dependency.
Day 3: Make one bounded change
Give Claude Code a task with a clear outcome and boundaries. Say what behavior should change, what must stay unchanged, and any files or areas that are in scope. For example, ask it to correct one documented edge case in a named function, preserve the existing interface, and identify the tests it expects to exercise. Avoid bundling unrelated cleanup into the same request.
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Use the documented workflow as a starting point, then adapt it to your repository’s conventions. Review proposed edits before accepting them. A generated patch is a proposal, not proof that the change is correct or complete; Anthropic’s security guidance places responsibility for reviewing code and commands with the user.
Day 4: Can Claude Code help debug a failing test?
Yes. Give it the failing test or error output and enough context to identify the expected behavior. Ask for a diagnosis and a proposed fix, not an immediate, repository-wide rewrite. Anthropic’s workflow examples include debugging and testing work.
- Provide the test command, the relevant failure output, and the behavior you expected.
- Ask Claude Code to identify the likely cause and point to the code and tests that support its diagnosis.
- Review the suggested change and check that it addresses the failure without weakening the test or changing unrelated behavior.
- Run the relevant test command yourself, then run any additional checks your repository requires.
- Inspect the final diff and confirm the result matches the intended behavior.
A passing test is useful evidence, not a complete review: it only checks what that test and the rest of your verification actually cover. You own the diagnosis, the review, and the decision to merge or keep the change.
Day 5: Choose interactive or print mode, and manage sessions
The CLI supports interactive use, noninteractive print mode, and continuing or resuming sessions. Check Anthropic’s CLI reference for current command and flag behavior; details can change between versions.
| Approach | Best fit | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive session | Exploration, iterative work, and tasks where you want to respond to questions or review actions as they arise. | Requires active supervision and a person available to steer the work. |
| Print mode | A bounded, scriptable task where you need noninteractive CLI use. | Offers less opportunity for back-and-forth while the task runs; keep the task narrow and verify its output. |
| Continue or resume a session | Picking up work using an earlier session’s context. | Confirm which session and context the current command uses; consult the installed CLI’s reference for exact syntax. |
For a first print-mode experiment, use a read-only task such as asking for a concise summary of a specified directory, and inspect the output before wiring it into a script. Don’t assume a command copied from an older example still has identical flags: check the reference for your installed CLI version.
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Day 6: Decide what context should persist
Session context is temporary working context; project memory and settings can preserve guidance or configuration beyond a single task. Anthropic documents these areas in its memory reference and settings reference. Use those live references for file locations, configuration syntax, and precedence, which can evolve.
| Choice | Persistence | Maintenance consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Session-only context | Applies while working in that session. | Useful for temporary task details that shouldn’t become standing project guidance. |
| Project memory or settings | Can make project guidance or configuration available across work, according to the current documented behavior. | Keep it accurate and narrowly useful; stale instructions can mislead future sessions. |
Start by recording only durable information that helps repeatedly, such as project-specific conventions or a reliable verification command. Leave one-off investigation notes in the session. Review persistent guidance when the project changes so it remains useful rather than accumulating conflicting directions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Day 7: Keep a safe, repeatable workflow
Hooks are an optional way to add automation to a workflow. They introduce setup and ongoing review, so first decide whether a repeated task is worth automating. Anthropic’s hooks documentation describes current configuration and behavior.
| Approach | Repeatability | Setup and review |
|---|---|---|
| Manual steps | Depends on remembering and repeating the steps. | Little configuration; the person performs and reviews each step directly. |
| Hooks | Can automate a configured step when its documented conditions apply. | Requires configuration and repository-specific testing; inspect what the hook does and how it behaves before relying on it. |
If you add a hook, begin with a narrow, understandable action and test it in the repository. Review the relevant settings and permissions, and make sure its behavior is visible and appropriate for the task. Don’t treat broader access or skipped permission prompts as the default path.
Quick Recap
A checklist for each task
- Scope: State the desired outcome and what is out of scope.
- Permissions: Grant only the access the task needs, and review command prompts.
- Changes: Inspect the proposed edits and the final diff before accepting the work.
- Verification: Run the relevant tests and repository checks yourself.
- Persistence: Keep only durable, accurate guidance in project memory or settings; automate only steps whose hook behavior you understand and have tested.
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