Claude Code Best Practices: Ship Better Code With AI
Manas Takalpati
Founder, Blue Orchid
After building 10+ production applications with Claude Code, I've developed a set of practices that consistently produce better results. The difference between a productive Claude Code session and a frustrating one usually comes down to preparation, not the tool itself.
Start With a Great CLAUDE.md
Your CLAUDE.md file is the single highest-leverage investment you can make. Five minutes of configuration saves hours of correcting Claude's assumptions.
Essential sections:
- Stack and versions (be specific: "Next.js 14 with App Router" not "Next.js")
- Commands (dev, build, test, lint)
- Architecture decisions
- Naming conventions
- What NOT to do
Keep it under 100 lines. Structured with headers and bullets.
Use Plan Mode for Everything Non-Trivial
Before any feature that touches more than 2 files, ask Claude to plan first. "Plan how you would add user authentication" produces a reviewable approach before any code is written.
Review the plan for: file paths, data flow, potential issues, missing edge cases. This prevents architectural mistakes that are expensive to fix later.
Write Specific Prompts
Bad: "Add authentication"
Good: "Add email/password authentication using Supabase Auth. Create a login page at /login, a signup page at /signup, and protect all /dashboard routes with middleware. Use Server Actions for form submissions."
Specificity isn't about being long-winded. It's about removing ambiguity.
Review in Layers
Don't try to review every line. Review in layers:
- Architecture - Are the right files being created/modified?
- Data flow - Does data move correctly between components?
- Security - Any obvious vulnerabilities?
- Patterns - Does it follow your established conventions?
Build Incrementally
Don't ask Claude to build an entire feature in one prompt. Break it down:
- Database schema first
- API routes next
- UI components after
- Integration and testing last
Each step verifies the previous one. Errors compound when you skip verification.
Use Subagents for Research
When Claude needs to understand your codebase before making changes, use subagents. They explore code in parallel without cluttering your main conversation.
Run Tests After Every Change
Tell Claude to run your test suite after every significant change. Add npm run test to your CLAUDE.md commands section so it knows how.
Common Anti-Patterns
The mega-prompt: Asking Claude to build an entire application in one message. Break it into features.
No CLAUDE.md: Making Claude guess your conventions every time.
Ignoring plan mode: Jumping straight to implementation without reviewing the approach.
Manual editing AI code: If the output isn't right, describe what's wrong instead of editing manually. Claude learns from feedback.
Not using git: Always work on feature branches. Commit before big changes so you can revert.
Frequently Asked Questions
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