Intelligence in the Terminal: Claude Code Core Usage and Best Practices

exist Anthropic In a technical presentation called 'Code w/ Claude', members of its technical team Cal Rueb Shared a tool that is changing developer workflows - theClaude CodeThis is not just another code-completion tool. This is not yet another code-completion tool, but a programming assistant deeply integrated into the command line terminal, designed to accomplish the full range of tasks from exploring the code base to deploying it live through conversational interaction.

Developer: a real user story

Cal Rueb together with Claude Code The connection was quite dramatic. As a developer who loved programming but often abandoned projects halfway through, he tried out this internal tool one weekend.Cal Rueb Trying to develop a note-taking app at the time, he was completely fascinated by this new development model: by working with the Claude Conversations, watching the code auto-generate in the editor and features gradually take shape.

This immersive experience allowed him to quickly rise to the top of the company's internal tool usage charts, and as a result, he received a Claude Code attention of the development team. With a deep understanding of cue engineering, theCal Rueb He eventually joined the team as one of the core members responsible for optimizing the system's cueing and assessment methods. This story reveals Claude Code 's core appeal: it's not only newbie-friendly, but also multiplies the efficiency of expert developers.

Core application scenarios: covering the full development lifecycle

Cal Rueb figure Claude Code s core strength is its ability to understand and execute complex instructions, especially in the following scenarios:

• Codebase Exploration: For developers who are new to a large and unfamiliar code base, theClaude Code It can be used as a smart wizard. You can just ask: "In which file is the user authentication function implemented?" or "Analyze git history that summarizes the major changes to this document." It provides quick and accurate answers and dramatically reduces the time needed to familiarize yourself with the project.
• Brainstorming and Programming: Before formal coding, it is possible to have the Claude Code Search the entire code base and propose 2 to 3 implementations of new features based on the existing code style and architecture. This helps developers to clear their minds and make better technical choices before getting their hands dirty.
• Code writing and refactoring: In addition to building applications from the ground up.Claude Code It is better at "doing surgery" on existing projects, such as adding new features, writing unit tests, or optimizing code. It can automatically run tests after changes have been made,TypeScript Type checking and linting, ensuring that the code quality meets the project specifications. For large code migration tasks, such as migrating old Java The project upgrades or puts PHP The code base is converted to ReactIt can also automate a lot of repetitive tasks.
• Debugging and Support: When it comes to tricky bug or in git rebase When the process gets bogged down, you can pass the error log or current status directly to the Claude Code Perform an analysis and it usually provides an effective solution.
• Submission and deployment::Claude Code It is possible to automatically generate clear, standardized code changes based on the git Submission of information and Pull Request Description. By means of its SDKThe program can even be integrated into the GitHub Actions et al. (and other authors) CI/CD process to automate deployment or code review.

Similarities and Differences with GitHub Copilot: A Collision of Two Philosophies

When talking about AI programming tools.GitHub Copilot It's an inescapable reference.Claude Code together with Copilot There are significant differences in design philosophy and core application scenarios.

• interactive interface::GitHub Copilot mainly as IDE It exists as a part of the program, and its core interactions take the form of in-line code completion and sidebar chat. It's more like a "pair programming partner". In contrast, the Claude Code is a command-line (CLIThe company's AI-centric tools turn the terminal into the main battleground for collaboration with AI, positioning it more like a "developer assistant" or "operation and maintenance engineer".
• Mandate implementation capacity::Copilot Good at generating code snippets from context, interpreting code, and answering questions. But Claude Code The ability to do more than that, it can directly execute terminal commands such as ls,grep,npm install cap (a poem) git commit. This means that it can perform a complete, multi-step task chain, such as "find all files that contain the 'TODO' comment, create an GitHub Issueand then outputs a list of these files to the report.txt".
• environmental awareness::Copilot The context comes mainly from currently open files and chats.Claude Code Instead, it actively senses the file structure and environment of the entire project and obtains real-time information by executing commands, which gives it an advantage when dealing with tasks that require a global view.

In a nutshell.GitHub Copilot It's more focused on the "writing code" part of the process, whereas the Claude Code It focuses on bridging the entire "development workflow" and is especially good at tasks that involve deep interaction with the command line, file system, and version control system.

Best Practices: How to Maximize the Value of Your Tools

Cal Rueb Emphasizing the need to give full play to Claude Code The potential of the program requires some proven techniques.

Core skills

• utilization claude.md fileThis is Claude Code The "Project Specification" of the project. In the project root directory, create a claude.md file to define the project overview, technology stack, test commands, etc.Claude This file is automatically read at startup. Here is a simple example:

  # 项目：Cool-Notes-App
  这是一个使用 React 和 TypeScript 构建的笔记应用。
  ## 如何运行测试
  使用 `npm test` 来运行单元测试。请确保在提交代码前所有测试都通过。
  ## 代码风格
  - 使用 Prettier 进行代码格式化。
  - 遵循 Airbnb JavaScript 风格指南。
  - 避免在组件中写入内联样式。
  

• Plan ahead, step by step: Do not give direct orders Claude "Fix this bug"Instead, let it analyze the problem first and generate a fix plan with a to-do list. After you confirm that the plan is feasible, then let it step-by-step execution. This model gives the user complete control.
• Test Driven Development: Follow the principle of small steps. Let Claude Run the relevant tests as soon as you have completed each small part of the code change and make sure all the checks pass before proceeding to the next step, so that even if there is a problem, it can be easily rolled back.
• optimize CLI artifact: for Claude Code outfit with GitHub (used form a nominal expression) gh or other CLI tool, its capabilities will be further expanded.
• Multi-modal inputs: For front-end development tasks, it is possible to directly transfer the design diagram (e.g., the mock.png) issued to ClaudeIt is asked to "build a web component based on this screenshot".

Advanced Play

• Permissions and Automation::Claude Code By default, user confirmation is requested when performing high-risk operations such as writing to a file or running a command. For trusted commands (such as npm run testIf you are familiar with its mode of operation, you can configure it to pass automatically. After familiarizing yourself with its mode of operation, you can configure it to auto-pass by using the "Auto Accept Mode" (Shift+Tab) to allow them to perform their tasks continuously.
• Model Selection: Users can access this information through the /model command to switch between models. The default Claude 3.5 Sonnet A good balance of speed and performance; for complex tasks that require more reasoning power, you can switch to the most powerful Claude 3 Opus Model.
• parallel operation: Experienced users can get the most out of the Tmux or multiple terminal tabs running multiple Claude instances and let them divide up the work and handle different tasks in parallel.
• context management (computing)::Claude The context window is large though (200K tokens), but may still fill up after a long conversation. At this point, you can use the /clear command to clear the dialog history, or use the /compact tell Claude Summarize the current conversation to compress the context.

Boundaries of the tool: risks and limitations

(go ahead and do it) without hesitating Claude Code Very powerful, but it is still a tool that needs to be monitored and users must understand its risks and limitations.

• safety risk: Giving an AI model permission to directly access and execute terminal commands is inherently risky. Even if the user confirms each step, it is possible to execute destructive commands by misinterpreting instructions (e.g., the rm -rf /). It is recommended that a development environment in isolation (e.g. Docker containers) in which they are used, and always remain vigilant.
• Unreliability of results: As with all large language models, theClaude Code It may create "illusions", such as fictionalizing a non-existent file path, giving incorrect command arguments, or generating a file with a bug of the code. Users must have the ability to screen the quality of their output and not trust it blindly.
• Risks of overdependence: Over-reliance on AI tools can undermine a developer's own fundamental problem-solving skills and deep understanding of the code base. It should be viewed as an efficiency-enhancing aid, not a replacement for the developer's mind.

Claude Code in the process of passing VS Code cap (a poem) JetBrains plug-ins that bring their powerful capabilities from the endpoint to the mainstream IDEThe future is bright. In the future, we can expect deeper integration with development environments and more native support for multi-intelligence collaboration, further blurring the boundaries between human and AI collaboration.