Best Practices Checklist

Essential best practices for Claude AI development based on official Anthropic guidance and community expertise.

CLAUDE.md Files ✅

Essential Setup

• [ ] Create CLAUDE.md in project root
• [ ] Include project overview and tech stack
• [ ] Add key commands and scripts
• [ ] Document project structure
• [ ] Specify coding conventions
• [ ] Include testing instructions

Example CLAUDE.md Template

# Project: [Your Project Name]

## Overview
Brief description of your project and its purpose.

## Tech Stack
- Language: Python 3.11
- Framework: FastAPI
- Database: PostgreSQL
- Testing: pytest

## Key Commands
```bash
# Run tests
pytest tests/

# Start dev server
uvicorn main:app --reload

# Build for production
docker build -t myapp .

Project Structure

src/
├── api/         # API endpoints
├── models/      # Data models
├── services/    # Business logic
└── utils/       # Utilities

Coding Conventions

• Use type hints
• Follow PEP 8
• Write docstrings for all functions
• Test coverage minimum: 80%

## Permission Management 🔒

### Smart Permission Settings
- [ ] Use auto-accept mode (`Shift+Tab`) for trusted operations
- [ ] Configure always-allow for safe commands (e.g., `npm run test`)
- [ ] Review dangerous commands carefully
- [ ] Set up permission allowlists for your workflow

### Recommended Allowlist
```json
{
  "tools": {
    "allowlist": [
      "bash",
      "read", 
      "write",
      "edit",
      "grep",
      "git"
    ],
    "dangerous_commands": {
      "require_confirmation": [
        "rm -rf",
        "git push --force", 
        "DROP TABLE",
        "DELETE FROM"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Context Management 📝

Efficient Context Usage

• [ ] Monitor context window usage (bottom right indicator)
• [ ] Use /clear to reset when context fills up
• [ ] Use /compact to summarize and continue long sessions
• [ ] Keep CLAUDE.md concise and relevant

Context Optimization Techniques

# Start fresh when needed
/clear

# Compact context while preserving state
/compact

# Check current model and settings
/model
/config

Integration & Tooling 🛠️

CLI Tool Integration

• [ ] Install and configure gh CLI for GitHub operations
• [ ] Set up relevant CLI tools for your stack
• [ ] Document custom tools in CLAUDE.md
• [ ] Prefer well-documented CLI tools over MCP servers

Recommended CLI Tools

# Essential tools for Claude Code
gh              # GitHub CLI
docker          # Container management
kubectl         # Kubernetes 
aws-cli         # AWS operations
gcloud          # Google Cloud

Development Workflow 🔄

Planning & Execution

• [ ] Plan First: Ask Claude to analyze and create implementation plan
• [ ] Use To-Do Lists: Let Claude create and manage task lists
• [ ] Small Iterations: Make incremental changes with testing
• [ ] Regular Commits: Commit frequently for easy rollback

Effective Prompting Patterns

# 1. Exploration Phase
"Can you explore this codebase and explain the architecture?"

# 2. Planning Phase  
"Create a plan to implement [feature] without starting to code yet"

# 3. Implementation Phase
"Implement step 1 of our plan, run tests, then proceed to step 2"

# 4. Review Phase
"Review these changes for bugs, performance, and best practices"

Testing & Quality 🧪

Test-Driven Development

• [ ] Write tests before implementation
• [ ] Run tests after each change
• [ ] Maintain high test coverage (>80%)
• [ ] Use TDD workflow with Claude

Quality Assurance Checklist

# Before committing
- [ ] All tests pass
- [ ] Linting passes
- [ ] TypeScript/type checking passes
- [ ] Security scan clean
- [ ] Documentation updated

Advanced Techniques ⚡

Multi-Claude Workflows

• [ ] Parallel Development: Run multiple Claude instances
• [ ] Specialized Roles: Different Claudes for different tasks
• [ ] State Sharing: Use shared files for coordination

Escape Key Mastery

• [ ] Single Escape: Stop current operation and provide guidance
• [ ] Double Escape: Jump back in conversation history
• [ ] Timing: Know when to interrupt vs. let Claude finish

Visual Development

• [ ] Screenshots: Use images to guide UI development
• [ ] Mockups: Provide visual references for implementation
• [ ] Verification: Take screenshots to verify results

Model Selection 🎯

Choose the Right Model

Task Type	Recommended Model	Why
Complex Logic	Claude Opus 4.5	Highest intelligence
General Coding	Claude Sonnet 4.5	Balanced performance
Quick Tasks	Claude Haiku 4.5	Fastest responses
Extended Thinking	Opus + "think hard"	Deep reasoning

Model Switching

# Check current model
/model

# Switch to Opus for complex tasks
/model opus

# Switch to Haiku for speed
/model haiku

# Return to default
/model default

Security & Safety 🛡️

Security Best Practices

• [ ] Never commit secrets - Use environment variables
• [ ] Review dangerous operations before approval
• [ ] Use containers for risky experiments
• [ ] Backup before major changes

Safe Development Practices

# Always backup before risky operations
git stash
git branch backup-$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

# Use containers for experiments
docker run -it --rm -v $(pwd):/workspace python:3.11

# Environment variable management
# Use .env files (never commit!)
echo "API_KEY=your_key_here" >> .env
echo ".env" >> .gitignore

Performance Optimization 🚀

Speed Up Your Workflow

• [ ] Hotkeys: Learn keyboard shortcuts
• [ ] Aliases: Create bash aliases for common commands
• [ ] Templates: Maintain code templates
• [ ] Snippets: Use code snippets for repetitive tasks

Productivity Aliases

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias cc='claude-code'
alias ccr='claude-code review'
alias cct='claude-code test'
alias ccp='claude-code "Create a pull request"'

# Project-specific functions
ccbuild() {
  claude-code "run the build and fix any errors"
}

cctest() {
  claude-code "run all tests and fix any failures"
}

Monitoring & Debugging 🔍

Effective Debugging

• [ ] Error Messages: Provide full error context to Claude
• [ ] Log Analysis: Ask Claude to analyze log files
• [ ] Step-by-step: Debug incrementally
• [ ] Reproduce: Create minimal reproduction cases

Debugging Workflow

# 1. Gather information
"Here's the error I'm getting: [paste error]
Here's what I was trying to do: [describe action]
Can you help me debug this?"

# 2. Analyze logs
"Can you analyze these log files and identify the root cause?"

# 3. Create reproduction
"Create a minimal example that reproduces this issue"

# 4. Implement fix
"Based on your analysis, implement a fix and test it"

Documentation 📚

Keep Documentation Current

• [ ] README: Maintain up-to-date setup instructions
• [ ] API Docs: Generate docs from code comments
• [ ] Changelog: Document major changes
• [ ] Examples: Provide working code examples

Documentation Templates

## Function Documentation
"""
Brief description of what the function does.

Args:
    param1 (type): Description of parameter
    param2 (type): Description of parameter
    
Returns:
    type: Description of return value
    
Raises:
    ExceptionType: When this exception is raised
    
Example:
    >>> result = my_function(arg1, arg2)
    >>> print(result)
    expected_output
"""

Community & Learning 📖

Stay Updated

• [ ] Follow Anthropic changelog
• [ ] Join Claude community discussions
• [ ] Share best practices with team
• [ ] Contribute to open source Claude tools

Learning Resources

• Official Claude Documentation
• Claude Code GitHub
• Anthropic YouTube Channel
• Community Discord

---

Quick Validation: Use this checklist before any major Claude Code session to ensure optimal results and security.

Emergency Procedures 🚨

When Things Go Wrong

# If Claude goes off track
Press Escape → "Stop and explain what you're doing"

# If context becomes too large
/clear → Start fresh with current state

# If changes break something
git reset --hard HEAD~1 → Undo last commit

# If you need help
/help → Show available commands

Recovery Commands

# Restore from backup
git checkout backup-branch
git reset --hard backup-commit-hash

# Clean up failed changes
git clean -fd
git checkout .

# Emergency stop
Ctrl+C (multiple times if needed)

Remember: Better to stop and plan than to let Claude continue down the wrong path!