Best Practices for Claude Code Users
A consolidated reference for getting consistent, high-quality results from Claude Code in VS Code — individually and as a team.
Always Give Context
Claude only knows what you show it. Before asking anything non-trivial, attach the relevant files with @. A question with context gets a specific, usable answer. Without context, Claude guesses.
Be Specific About Output
Define exactly what you want: format, length, tone, what to avoid. "Two sentences, no exclamation marks, mention organic cotton" beats "make it sound good" every time.
Review Before Accepting
Read every diff before clicking Accept. Claude is highly capable but not infallible — especially on code it can't fully see or test. You are the final reviewer.
Build Team Conventions
Shared CLAUDE.md files, a prompt library, and agreed-upon patterns mean every team member gets the same quality baseline. Don't let good prompts live only in one person's head.
The Daily Workflow Checklist
Start each session with CLAUDE.md in place
Ensure your project's CLAUDE.md is current — project context, conventions, and any task-specific instructions. This saves you re-explaining the same things every session.
Use /clear between unrelated tasks
Don't let context from a product-copy task contaminate a code-review task. A clean context window produces cleaner outputs.
Attach files — don't paste
Use @filename rather than pasting content. It's faster, keeps the chat cleaner, and Claude can reference the file path when explaining changes.
Iterate, don't over-specify upfront
A good first prompt + two refinement turns beats a 200-word prompt that tries to anticipate everything. Start broad, then tighten.
Save great prompts as team resources
When a prompt produces consistently excellent results, save it — in a Notion doc, a prompts/ folder in the repo, or as a custom slash command in CLAUDE.md. Treat prompts as reusable assets.
Right Model for the Right Task
| Task | Model | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quick drafts, summaries, short copy | Haiku | Fastest, cheapest — ideal for high-volume routine tasks |
| Code generation, reviews, most daily work | Sonnet | Best balance of speed, quality, and cost |
| Complex reasoning, architecture, security review | Opus | Most capable — worth the cost for high-stakes decisions |
If your team needs to call Claude from custom code or automate workflows beyond what Claude Code's IDE tools support, see Module 19: API Usage for the developer/API track.