How to Actually Use Claude Code 2026

Good days guys, I’m happy you found this…. The Claude Code: A Developer’s Honest Guide to AI-Powered Coding.

I shipped three projects last week. A Figma plugin, a client dashboard, and an internal automation tool.

Two months ago, that would’ve been my entire month’s output.

Something changed. And it wasn’t me suddenly getting smarter or working 80-hour weeks. It was Claude Code.

I know what you’re thinking. Another AI tool promising to 10x your productivity. Another piece of overhyped software that’ll be forgotten in six months. I thought the same thing.

Then I actually used it.

What Is Claude Code? (And Why Should You Care)

Claude Code is Anthropic’s agentic coding assistant. It runs in your terminal, reads your codebase, writes code, executes bash commands, commits to git, and interacts with APIs. All through natural language.

But here’s what makes it different from GitHub Copilot or Cursor: it doesn’t just suggest code—it takes action.

Think of it like this: Copilot is autocomplete. Claude Code is more like a junior developer who never sleeps, never gets defensive in code reviews, and types faster than you can think.

Anthropic released it in February 2025. Since then, they’ve added subagents for parallel execution, skills for extending capabilities, and LSP support for real-time diagnostics. The December 2025 update made it genuinely production-ready.

But before you dive into advanced features, let’s start with what actually matters.

How to Install Claude Code (The Simple Version)

You need Node.js 18 or higher. If you’re on Windows, use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) to save yourself headaches.

Run this in your terminal:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

That’s it. Navigate to your project folder and type claude to start.

There’s a Mac desktop app too, but the terminal version is where the real power lives.

The One File That Changes Everything: CLAUDE.md

This is the secret that took me three weeks to discover.

CLAUDE.md is a special file that Claude automatically reads at the start of every conversation. It’s your project’s memory. Your context. Your way of not repeating yourself fifty times.

Create it at the root of your repo:

# Project: MyApp

## Tech Stack
- React + TypeScript
- Supabase for backend
- Tailwind CSS

## Commands
- npm run dev: Start development server
- npm run build: Build for production
- npm run test: Run tests

## Conventions
- Use functional components
- Name files in kebab-case
- Write tests before merging

Now every session starts with Claude already knowing how your project works.

Anthropic’s own engineers swear by this. Their best practices guide states: “CLAUDE.md is ideal for documenting common bash commands, core files, code style guidelines, and repository etiquette.”

Want Claude to generate one for you? Run /init and it’ll scan your project and create a starter file.

Pro tip: Press # while chatting to add instructions directly to CLAUDE.md. Build your context as you work.

How Claude Code Actually Works (The Mental Model)

When you give Claude a command, here’s what happens:

1. Claude reads your prompt
2. It analyzes relevant files in your codebase
3. It decides which tools to use (bash, file editing, grep, etc.)
4. It executes, reviews the results, and iterates until done

This is what “agentic” means. Claude doesn’t just generate code and wait for you. It runs your tests, checks if they pass, fixes errors, and tries again.

But here’s the thing people miss: Claude Code is intentionally unopinionated.

That’s not a flaw. It’s a feature. Anthropic built it this way so it doesn’t force a workflow on you. But that flexibility means you need to develop your own patterns.

Let me share what works.

The Workflow That Actually Ships Features

I’ve tried a dozen approaches. This one consistently delivers: Explore → Plan → Code → Commit.

1. Explore First

Don’t let Claude start coding immediately. Let it understand your codebase first.

“Read the authentication folder and summarize how login works. Don’t write any code yet.”

This is critical for existing projects. Claude needs context before it can be useful.

2. Make a Plan

Ask Claude to think through the problem before touching code. Use the word “think” to trigger extended reasoning:

“Think hard about how to implement password reset. List the steps before writing any code.”

You can escalate the thinking: “think” → “think hard” → “think harder” → “ultrathink”. Each level gives Claude more time to reason.

This changed everything for me. Instead of getting half-baked solutions, I get thoughtful implementations.

3. Code in Small Steps

Don’t ask Claude to build your entire feature at once. Break it into reviewable chunks:

“Implement the password reset form UI. Don’t connect it to the backend yet.”

Small diffs are easier to review. They’re less likely to introduce subtle bugs. And they’re faster to iterate on.

4. Commit When Satisfied

Claude can handle git for you:

“Commit this with a descriptive message.”

It’ll look at your changes and recent history to write an appropriate commit message. This saves more time than you’d think.

Context Management: The Thing Nobody Warns You About

Claude has a 200K token context window with Opus 4.5. That sounds massive. Until you’re debugging a complex issue across twelve files and suddenly you’re hitting limits.

Context fills up fast.

Here’s what I do:

Clear between tasks. Use /clear to reset the conversation when switching topics. Old context pollutes new work.

Check your usage. Use /cost to see how much context you’re using. Above 50-60%? Time to compact or clear.

Compact when needed. Use /compact to compress context while preserving key information.

One developer described it perfectly: “Think of Claude’s context like a fast intern’s working memory. Too much clutter slows them down.”

Skills and Subagents: When to Use Advanced Features

Claude Code has a modular system for extending capabilities. Here’s what matters:

Skills

Skills are folders with instructions that Claude loads automatically when relevant. They live in .claude/skills/.

Anthropic provides built-in skills for working with Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and PDFs. You can browse the skills library or create your own.

Start here before building custom solutions.

Subagents

Subagents are specialized mini-agents that handle specific tasks in their own context window. They’re defined as markdown files in .claude/agents/.

---
name: code-reviewer
description: Reviews code for quality and security
tools: Read, Grep, Glob
---

You are a security-focused code reviewer. Analyze code for vulnerabilities and report findings.

Use subagents when you need to:

• Isolate heavy research work
• Run parallel analysis
• Prevent context pollution in your main session

According to the official docs: “Each subagent operates in its own context, preventing pollution of the main conversation.”

My advice: Don’t start with subagents. Master CLAUDE.md and skills first. Add complexity only when you feel the pain of not having it.

Real-World Use Cases (How I Actually Use This)

Let me show you what this looks like in practice:

Debugging

When something breaks, I paste the error:

“This test is failing with ‘undefined is not a function’. Read the test file and the code it’s testing. Explain what’s wrong.”

Claude greps through your codebase, finds the issue, and usually fixes it. The time savings here are insane.

Test-Driven Development

TDD works beautifully with Claude Code:

“Write three acceptance tests for the password reset feature. Don’t implement anything yet, just the tests.”

Then:

“Now implement code that passes these tests. Keep running them until they all pass.”

Claude iterates until your tests are green. It’s like pair programming with someone who never gets tired.

Git Operations

Claude is surprisingly good at git:

“Show me what changed in the last 5 commits related to authentication.”

“Revert the last commit and explain what it was.”

“Create a PR with a descriptive title and body.”

I use Claude for 90% of my git interactions now. It’s faster and I make fewer mistakes.

Codebase Q&A

When onboarding to a new project:

“How does the payment system work?”

“What edge cases does the OrderProcessor handle?”

“Why are we calling foo() instead of bar() on line 233?”

Claude searches through your code to find answers. This is genuinely useful for understanding legacy code someone else wrote three years ago.

GitHub Actions Integration: Automate Everything

One of my favorite features. You can set up Claude to respond to PR comments and GitHub issues.

Quick setup:

claude> /install-github-app

This walks you through authorization.

Now you can:

• Comment @claude fix this bug on an issue
• Comment @claude review this PR on a pull request
• Have Claude auto-label new issues

Anthropic’s own Claude Code repo uses this for issue triage. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.

Headless Mode for CI/CD

For automation and scripts, use headless mode:

claude -p "Run the test suite and summarize any failures" --output-format json

This runs without an interactive session and returns structured output. Perfect for:

• Pre-commit hooks
• Build scripts
• Automated code reviews

Check the CI/CD integration guide for more examples.

What Claude Code Won’t Do (The Reality Check)

Let me be honest about the limitations. Because there are limitations.

It won’t replace understanding your codebase. Claude is fast, but it doesn’t know your system’s history, your team’s decisions, or the political reasons why that weird function exists. You still need to guide it.

It won’t fix bad architecture. If your code is a mess, Claude will produce more mess—just faster. Garbage in, garbage out. Always true.

It won’t always get it right the first time. You need to course-correct. Press Escape to interrupt. Double-tap to edit previous prompts. Ask it to undo. This is collaborative, not magical.

Context management is your job. Claude forgets everything between sessions. If you don’t maintain CLAUDE.md and clear context regularly, quality degrades fast.

One engineer put it perfectly: “Custom subagents are a powerful idea that, in practice, create two new problems: they gatekeep context and they force human workflows.”

The point: don’t over-engineer. Start simple. Add complexity only when needed.

Getting Started Checklist: Your First Week

If you’re new to Claude Code, here’s what to do this week:

Day 1-2:

• Install it: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
• Run /init: Generate your first CLAUDE.md
• Try the explore-plan-code flow with a small feature

Day 3-5:

• Learn /clear and /cost: These will save you hours
• Add tools to your allowlist: Run /permissions and allow Edit, Bash(git commit:*), etc.
• Pick one real task and let Claude help

After a week:

• Create a custom slash command for workflows you repeat
• Experiment with subagents for code review
• Set up GitHub integration: Run /install-github-app

Essential Resources

Everything I referenced, if you want to dig deeper:

• Claude Code Best Practices — Anthropic’s official guide
• Building Agents with the Claude Agent SDK — How to build products
• Claude Code GitHub Actions — CI/CD integration
• Subagents Documentation — Task isolation patterns
• Skills Explained — Extending capabilities
• Using CLAUDE.md Files — Context configuration

Final Thoughts: Is Claude Code Worth It?

Here’s the truth: Claude Code is not magic. It’s a tool. A very powerful tool, but still a tool.

The developers who get the most out of it understand that AI amplifies your skills—it doesn’t replace them. If you know what good code looks like, Claude helps you produce more of it, faster. If you don’t, you’ll just ship bugs faster.

I’ve been building with AI tools long enough to know the hype cycle. Tools get announced. Everyone gets excited. Half of them disappear in six months.

But Claude Code isn’t hype. It’s genuinely useful. It’s changed how I work, how fast I ship, and honestly, how much I enjoy coding again.

The tedious stuff—boilerplate, test setup, git archaeology—Claude handles it. That leaves me with more time for the interesting problems. The architecture decisions. The creative solutions.

If you’re not using it yet, you’re leaving productivity on the table.

Start small. Run /init. Build something. See if it clicks for you like it did for me.

The worst case? You waste an afternoon. The best case? You completely change how you build software.

I know which way I’d bet.