50 Claude Code tips to help you build with Claude that nobody talks about.
Over the past 24 hours, I read the new Claude Code best practices document so you don't have to.
I've extracted all the best practices + added some of my own from personal experience to compile the ultimate list of Claude Code best practices.
This list also includes various Claude Code tools + learning resources.
Rapid-fire style - let's go.
Foundational Tips
50. Clear Task Framing - State exactly what you want Claude to do before anything else.
49. Front Load Instructions - Always put the most important instruction at the very top of the prompt.
48. Give Claude a way to verify its work - Include tests, screenshots, or expected outputs so Claude can check itself. This is the single highest-leverage thing you can do.
47. Prompt Structure Tip - To make the last few tips practical, I like this prompting structure:
[Role] + [Task] + [Context]
46. Chrome Extension Tip - UI changes can be verified using the Claude Chrome extension. It opens a browser, tests the UI, and iterates until the code works.
45. Explore first, then plan, then code - Research (this process can include other LLMs), then enter Plan Mode, then switch back to normal mode to execute code.
44. Provide specific context in your prompts - The more precise your instructions, the better. Claude can only infer context.
43. Assume Zero Context - Assume Claude knows nothing about your project. Tell it everything it needs to know.
42. Rich Context - Use @ to link files, data, and images
41. Claude . MD Tip - Run /init to generate a starter Claude . MD file for your current project
Projects & Skills Use
40. Project Instructions - Use project-level instructions to define long-term behavior instead of repeating prompts.
39. Project Memory - Edit the "Memory" tab to control exactly what Claude should retain or ignore over time (this works in projects as well).
38. Claude Skills - Use them to turn repeatable workflows into Skills instead of re-prompting.
37. Skill From Examples - Paste a great output and ask Claude to turn it into a reusable Skill. You can even upload screenshots and ask Claude to replicate it; turn it into a skill (an easy way to create elite skills).
36. Skill Versioning - Duplicate and version Skills as you refine workflows instead of editing live ones.
35. Project Hygiene - Regularly prune memory, files, and instructions to avoid drift.
34. Project Context Bleed - Separate projects for unrelated workstreams to prevent context bleed.
33. Claude Skills Repo - A library of 80,000+ Claude Skills
https:// skillsmp. com/
32. Claude Skills Library - A cool website with plug-and-play Skills and more
https:// mcpservers. org/claude-skills
31. Project Memory - Project memory can be stored in either ./CLAUDE.md or ./.claude/CLAUDE.md.
Underrated Mini Tips (most people don't know about these)
30. Model Stacking - Use other LLMs to plan your projects and generate advanced mega prompts before ever opening Claude Code - this strategy also saves tokens from Plan Mode.
29. Create custom subagents - Define specialized assistants in .claude/agents/ that Claude can delegate to for isolated tasks.
28. Output Scoring - Ask Claude to score its answer against your pre-defined success criteria.
27. Install Plug-ins - Run /plugin to browse the marketplace. Plugins add skills, tools, and integrations without any configuration.
26. Claude Code taught IN Claude Code - A course that teaches you Claude Code directly IN Claude Code.
https://ccforeveryone. com/
25. Claude Interviews - For larger projects, have Claude interview you first. Start with a minimal prompt and ask Claude to interview you using the AskUserQuestion tool.
24. Correct Often - Course-course Claude often. The moment it starts going off track, stop (ESC to stop Claude mid-action).
23. Clear - Run /clear to start a clean session.
22. Rewind - Double-tap ESC or /rewind to open checkpoint menu.
21. Run Multiple Sessions - There are two main ways to run parallel sessions:
Claude Desktop: Manage multiple local sessions visually. Each session gets its own isolated worktree.
Claude Web: Run on Anthropic’s secure cloud infrastructure in isolated VMs.
Debugging, Error Handling, Common Failure Patterns
20. Step Isolation - Re-run only the broken step instead of regenerating everything.
19. Error Reproduction - Ask Claude to intentionally reproduce the failure to understand it.
18. Rollback Prompts - Revert to the last known good prompt and reapply changes one at a time.
17. Over-Specified CLAUDE.md. - If your CLAUDE. MD is too long; Claude ignores half of it because important rules get lost in the noise.
Fix: Ruthlessly prune. If Claude already does something correctly without the instruction, delete it or convert it to a hook.
16. Don't make this mistake - You start with one task, then ask Claude something unrelated, then go back to the first task. Context is full of irrelevant information.
Fix: /clear between unrelated tasks.
15. Over-Correcting - Claude does something wrong, you correct it, it’s still wrong, you correct again. Context is polluted with failed approaches.
Fix: After two failed corrections, /clear and write a better initial prompt incorporating what you learned.
14. Step-by-Step Replay - Have Claude walk through how it generated the answer line by line.
13. The infinite exploration - You ask Claude to “investigate” something without scoping it. Claude reads hundreds of files, filling the context.
Fix: Scope investigations narrowly or use subagents so the exploration doesn’t consume your main context.
12. Debugging Project - Create an AI project dedicated to debugging code (Grok 4 Heavy is good at debugging).
11. Context Window Management - Claude's context window fills up fast. As this happens, Claude may start forgetting earlier instructions. This page will help you eliminate that problem:
https:// code.claude. com/docs/en/costs#reduce-token-usage
Final Tips
10. Notion Database - Connect your Notion database to Claude to store your best & most commonly used prompts.
9. Learn Claude Code in Action - Anthropic's learning resources:
https:// www.anthropic. com/learn
8. Claude Courses - Courses from Coursera:
https:// www.anthropic. com/learn
7. Boris' Set Up - How the creator of Claude Code maximises Claude Code
6. Claude Code Best Practices (DOC) - Link to the latest doc:
https:// code.claude. com/docs/en/best-practices
5. Safe Autonomous Mode - Use claude-- dangerously-skip-permissions to bypass all permission checks and let Claude work uninterrupted. This works well for workflows like fixing lint errors or generating boilerplate code.
4. Slow & Steady - Take your time. Especially if building a serious workflow. Plan. Plan. Plan. THEN, execute.
3. Claude Superpowers - A GitHub Repo of Claude Code superpowers
https://github. com/obra/superpowers
2. Hooks - Best for actions that must happen every time with zero exceptions.
1. How to Extend Claude Code - Anthropic's Guide:
https://code.claude. com/docs/en/features-overview
