Claude Code Best Practices

A code-backed explanation of how Claude Code assembles context, runs the agent loop, invokes tools, and keeps long sessions moving.

Understand the difference between session context, CLAUDE.md instructions, MEMORY.md indexing, and relevance-based memory recall.

A practical guide to built-in tools, permission checks, and why tool availability changes across modes and agent types.

Understand the difference between the main thread, plan mode, coordinator behavior, and constrained sub-agents.

A guide to transcript storage, session resume behavior, cross-project boundaries, and why long-lived conversations need compaction.

A review workflow built around bug finding, risk analysis, and missing-test detection rather than vague style feedback.

A guide to keeping long-running work coherent by using plans, memory correctly, and prompts that resist context sprawl.

A clear comparison between repository-scoped collaboration instructions and persistent memory files intended to survive across future conversations.

Use plan mode for non-trivial tasks that need decision clarity; use direct execution for bounded requests where the path is already clear.