I’ll admit it - when I first heard about Claude Code, I was skeptical. I was just dipping my toe into AI and agentic workflows. My only exposure prior to this was ChatGPT in the browser. I decided to give Claude Code a shot because everything I read was positive and the CLI kept me in the terminal as I’m a NeoVim user. That was a couple of months ago, and now I can’t imagine my workflow without it.

So What’s This Claude Code Thing?

Claude Code is basically Claude, but living in your terminal. No more alt-tabbing between your IDE and a browser window, copying and pasting code back and forth like some kind of digital archaeologist. You just type, Claude responds, and you keep coding. It’s surprisingly natural once you get the hang of it.

If you’re curious about the nitty-gritty setup details, check out https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code. But honestly, getting started was easier than I expected.

Lessons Learned (Sometimes the Hard Way)

Context is Everything

Early on, I made the mistake of being too vague. I’d throw something like “fix this function” at Claude and wonder why the results were hit-or-miss. Now I’ve learned to paint the full picture:

• What language/framework I’m using (even if it seems obvious)
• What the code is supposed to do
• What’s currently broken
• Any weird constraints or legacy decisions I’m stuck with

The difference is night and day.

Baby Steps Beat Giant Leaps

My first instinct was to ask Claude to build entire features. Bad idea. What works way better is building incrementally with workflows like spec driven development, which allows you to spend time writing more about what you’re trying to accomplish and how vs. trying to go prompt by prompt. I like this better than the iterative approach I was using. Before, I may get to a point where I’d let it run without training wheels and have to start over multiple times. My fault.

Actually Read the Code (Seriously)

This one’s important. Yes, Claude can crank out some impressive code, but just blindly accepting what it creates is a recipe for disaster. I always review what it generates, and I’m not shy about asking for explanations when something looks unfamiliar. It’s actually made me a better developer - I’ve learned new patterns and approaches I wouldn’t have discovered on my own.

Write Requests Like You’re Explaining to a Junior Dev

This goes back to what I said about using specs and even having the agent work through a feature with TDD. The more opportunity you give it to check itself, the more opportunity you give it to fix errors before they become a problem.

Where It Really Shines

After months of daily use, here’s where Claude Code has become indispensable:

• The Boring Stuff: Setup files, boilerplate, config - all the stuff that makes you want to quit programming and become a baker
• Test Writing: I actually have decent test coverage now. Who would’ve thought?
• Documentation: No more “I’ll document it later” (spoiler: later never comes)
• Untangling Legacy Code: When you inherit that one file nobody wants to touch
• Rubber Duck Debugging: Sometimes just explaining the problem to Claude helps me solve it myself

Let’s Be Real Though

Claude Code isn’t magic. It can’t replace actual thinking or make architectural decisions for you. I’ve seen people try to use it as a crutch, and it doesn’t end well. Think of it more like a really smart autocomplete that can also explain its suggestions.

Final Thoughts

Claude Code has become as essential to my workflow as my morning coffee. But just like coffee, it’s best used to enhance what you’re already doing, not replace sleep entirely.

Start small. Try it for writing tests or generating boilerplate. See how it fits into your workflow. Everyone’s different, and what works for me might not work for you. But I’d be surprised if you don’t find at least a few use cases where it saves you time and sanity.

The future of programming probably involves a lot more AI assistance, and tools like Claude Code feel like a glimpse of what’s coming. May as well get comfortable with it now, right?