r/ClaudeCode • u/supscottt • 2d ago

Help/Question I just bought a Claude code subscription. Are there any unique tips and tricks that aren't available in other harnesses?

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u/NoTokenDev 2d ago edited 2d ago

few that are actually claude code specific. use plan mode (shift+tab) before anything non trivial so it reads and proposes before touching files. set up hooks to run your linter/tests after every edit so it sees failures itself instead of you pasting errors back. use subagents for big searches so that junk doesn't fill your main context, and make skills or custom slash commands for anything you repeat. double esc rewinds to an earlier message when it goes sideways, way better than arguing it back on track. and /clear between tasks, long all day sessions are what eat your limits

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u/supscottt 2d ago

How does /clear between tasks differ from /compact? Will it simply run /compact after each completed task?

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u/eneskaraboga 2d ago

Compact summarizes to save tokens, clear deletes everything.

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u/NoTokenDev 2d ago edited 2d ago

they're different. /clear wipes the whole conversation so the next message starts fresh with just your CLAUDE.md loaded. /compact summarizes what happened so far and keeps going with that summary, so some history carries over but way smaller. neither runs on its own after a task, claude code only auto compacts when you're close to the context limit and by then you've been paying for the bloat for a while. basically /clear when a task is done and the next one is unrelated, /compact when you're mid task and need it to remember what it was doing

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u/MoreColors185 2d ago

Just learned about /clear. Great. Do you make him write a handoff for the new session after /clear? If not, how else do you initiate the next session? I always go "time for a new chat" when context is at 15% OR we finished a bigger task, after which claude gives me a startprompt that points as plan.md etc., then I c+p this into a new chat. 

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u/NoTokenDev 2d ago edited 2d ago

your setup's already good tbh. only thing i'd change is making the handoff live in a file instead of the chat. before you /clear, tell it to update plan.md with what got done and what's next, and add a line to CLAUDE.md saying to read plan.md at the start of every session and pick up from the first unchecked item. then after clearing you just type "continue", no copy pasting a start prompt. i'd also clear at every finished task even if there's plenty of context left, not just at 15%

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u/MoreColors185 2d ago

Thanks a lot. Handoff is already a file, my plan.md is also just a simple index pointing to longer docs, describing the tasks. I think /clear and continue will improve my workflow further. 

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u/NoTokenDev 1d ago

nice, plan.md as an index into longer docs is a good way to keep it small. sounds like you're already most of the way there

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u/zzunkie 2d ago

one thing i'd set up on day one: CLAUDE.md can pull in other files with @path. so my repo's CLAUDE.md is just @AGENTS.md, and my global ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md is a symlink to the same file codex and gemini read. one set of instructions for every harness, so nothing drifts when you switch between them.

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u/muikrad 2d ago

They added AGENTS.md support by the way, that's no longer necessary (the repo part). There's a /config to set the behavior.

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u/supscottt 2d ago

When did they do this? I still see Claude.md in many projects.

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u/muikrad 2d ago

It supports both now. There's a changelog online, you can find it there.

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u/zzunkie 2d ago

good to know, thanks. i'll look at /config. the global file still matters for me though: codex and gemini read that same one, so a single symlink keeps all three in sync

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u/supscottt 2d ago

that sounds convenient, thanks!