Efficient Practices

Tips for working efficiently with Claude Code.

Start with Plan Mode

For complex tasks, explore first before making changes:

claude --permission-mode plan

Or press Shift+Tab to toggle to Plan Mode.

Use Subagents for Research

Delegate exploration to subagents:

> @explore Find all authentication-related code
> @plan Design a caching strategy

Batch Processing

Handle multiple items together:

> Add error handling to all API endpoints
> Update imports across all files

Use CLAUDE.md Effectively

Document patterns and conventions:

# Project Guidelines

## Testing
- Run `npm test` for all tests
- Use `npm test -- --watch` during development

## Code Style
- Use TypeScript strict mode
- Prefer async/await over callbacks

Keyboard Shortcuts

Session Management

# Continue recent conversation
claude -c

# Resume specific session
claude --resume

# Start fresh
claude

Optimize Prompts

• Be specific about files and locations
• Provide examples when possible
• Break complex tasks into steps
• Ask Claude to explain before implementing

Use /clear Wisely

Clear context when:

• Switching to a different task
• Context becomes polluted
• Starting fresh analysis

Background Tasks

For long-running operations:

> Run this in the background

Or press Ctrl+B to send current task to background.