Workflow Tips

Efficient Claude Code development workflows to boost team productivity

Workflow Tips

This guide covers how to integrate Claude Code into your daily development workflow, from personal efficiency to team collaboration, establishing efficient AI-assisted development processes.

Plan-Execute Workflow

The most effective Claude Code pattern is plan first, execute later—avoid having AI write code directly.

Basic Flow

1. Analyze Requirements → 2. Create Plan → 3. Confirm Plan → 4. Execute Step by Step → 5. Verify Results

Practical Steps

Step 1: Have Claude Understand Requirements

> Read the code in @src/services/ directory and understand the existing architecture.
> Don't write any code, just analyze.

Step 2: Create Implementation Plan

> Based on your understanding of the existing code, create a detailed implementation plan for "user permission management".
> Include: file changes, new files, dependencies, risk points.

Step 3: Confirm and Adjust Plan

Review Claude's plan and suggest modifications:

> In step 3 of the plan, I want to use Redis cache instead of memory cache. Please adjust the plan.

Step 4: Execute Step by Step

> Now execute step 1 of the plan: create the permission model.

After completing each step, verify results before continuing.

Feature Branch Workflow

Git Branch Best Practices

# 1. Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/user-permissions

# 2. Navigate to project and start Claude Code
cd your-project && claude

# 3. Commit frequently during development
> /commit  # First commit
# Continue developing...
> /commit  # Second commit

# 4. Feature complete, create PR
> Create a PR description for the current branch, summarizing all commit changes

Commit Frequency Tips

  • Small commits: Commit after each independent feature point
  • Commit messages: Use /commit to auto-generate proper messages
  • Avoid large commits: Don't accumulate too many changes before committing

Code Review Workflow

Self Review

Before submitting a PR, have Claude review:

> /review
> Focus on: security, performance, code style

Reviewing Others' Code

# Get PR changes
gh pr diff 123 | claude "Review this PR, focus on:
1. Logic correctness
2. Edge case handling
3. Error handling
4. Code maintainability"

Multi-Phase Review Process

For complex PRs, use structured review:

> Phase 1: Check if architecture design is reasonable
> Phase 2: Check if implementation matches design
> Phase 3: Check if test coverage is sufficient
> Phase 4: Check if documentation is complete

Test-Driven Workflow

TDD with Claude Code

1. Write Tests → 2. Run Tests (Fail) → 3. Write Code → 4. Run Tests (Pass) → 5. Refactor

Practical Steps

Step 1: Define Tests

> Write test cases for user registration, covering:
> - Normal registration
> - Invalid email format
> - Weak password
> - User already exists
> Write tests first, don't implement the feature.

Step 2: Verify Tests Fail

npm test  # Expected: tests fail

Step 3: Implement Feature

> Now implement the code to make all tests pass.

Step 4: Verify and Refactor

npm test  # Expected: tests pass

> Tests pass. Now refactor the code for better readability without breaking tests.

Debugging Workflow

Structured Debugging

1. Reproduce Issue → 2. Gather Information → 3. Analyze Cause → 4. Verify Hypothesis → 5. Fix Issue

Practical Steps

Step 1: Describe the Issue

> Issue: After login, clicking "My Orders" shows blank page
> Expected: Display user's order list
> Steps to reproduce: Login → Click "My Orders"

Step 2: Gather Information

> Analyze these files to find possible issues:
> @src/pages/MyOrders.tsx
> @src/services/OrderService.ts
> @src/api/orders.ts

Step 3: Analyze Logs

# Collect error logs
cat app.log | claude "Analyze these logs, find errors related to the orders page"

Step 4: Fix and Verify

> Based on the analysis, fix the issue in OrderService
> After fixing, I'll test to verify

Subagent Collaboration Workflow

Parallel Processing

Leverage subagents for parallel task processing:

> Execute these tasks simultaneously:
> 1. Use Explore agent to analyze project structure
> 2. Use Plan agent to design new feature approach

Specialized Roles

Different subagents have different strengths:

Agent Specialty Use Case
Explore Fast search Find code, understand structure
Plan Architecture design Complex feature planning
Background Parallel processing Batch tasks, long-running tasks

IDE Integration Workflow

VS Code Integration

  1. Install Claude Code VS Code extension
  2. Use Cmd+Esc / Ctrl+Esc to quickly switch
  3. Select code in editor then invoke Claude

Terminal + IDE Collaboration

Terminal (Claude Code)          IDE (VS Code)
        ↓                           ↓
   Analyze, Plan              Manual adjustments, reading
        ↓                           ↓
   Generate Code  ←─────────→   View diff, test
        ↓                           ↓
   Commit Code                  Continue development

Team Collaboration Workflow

Standardized CLAUDE.md

Share CLAUDE.md configuration across team:

# Team Development Standards

## Code Style
- ESLint config: .eslintrc.js
- Prettier config: .prettierrc

## Git Standards
- Branch naming: feature/xxx, fix/xxx, hotfix/xxx
- Commit format: type(scope): description

## Testing Requirements
- Unit test coverage > 80%
- E2E tests cover core flows

PR Templates

Have Claude use unified PR templates:

> Create PR description using this template:
> ## Changes
> ## Test Plan
> ## Screenshots (if UI changes)
> ## Checklist

Workflow Checklist

Before Starting New Task

  • [ ] Create feature branch
  • [ ] Use /clear to clear context
  • [ ] Have Claude understand existing code first
  • [ ] Create implementation plan

During Development

  • [ ] Execute step by step, verify each step
  • [ ] Small commits, frequent /commit
  • [ ] Monitor context with /context
  • [ ] Use /compact when needed

Before Submission

  • [ ] Run /review for self-review
  • [ ] Run all tests
  • [ ] Check for lint errors
  • [ ] Generate PR description

Next Steps

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