Claude Code Guide
From first session to personal AI infrastructure. A practical guide to working effectively with Claude Code, covering everything from context management basics to building custom tools and multi-agent workflows.
Who This Guide Is For
Whether starting with Claude Code or looking to build more sophisticated workflows, this guide meets readers where they are.
New to Claude Code
Developers and researchers who have heard about AI coding assistants but have not used Claude Code yet. Start with the Beginner tier to build a solid foundation.
Using It But Hitting Limits
Those who have tried Claude Code but find sessions frustrating or unproductive. The Intermediate tier addresses common pain points like context loss and verification overhead.
Ready to Build Systems
Power users ready to create reusable skills, custom tools, and multi-agent workflows. The Advanced tier covers the infrastructure that multiplies Claude's capabilities.
Beginner Getting Started
The fundamentals. Learn how Claude Code works, what context means, and how to help the assistant understand a codebase.
Your First Session
What to expect when opening Claude Code for the first time. A walkthrough of the terminal interface, basic prompting, and completing a first task.
2Why It Forgot Everything
How context windows work and why sessions reset. The whiteboard analogy that explains AI memory and the re-explanation tax.
3Reading Our Analysis Files
How Claude reads and navigates our research code. The Read, Glob, and Grep tools explained simply for exploring do-files and scripts.
Intermediate Working Effectively
Solving the common frustrations. Session management, context optimization, and building workflows that survive between sessions.
The Cold Start Problem
Why the first five minutes of an AI session matter most, and how CLAUDE.md solves the context problem.
5End-of-Session Hygiene
What to capture before context resets. Building habits that make the next session productive from the start.
6Context Window Budgeting
Managing token limits effectively. What to include, what to exclude, and when to start a fresh session.
7The Verification Tax
Why checking AI output takes time, and how to build verification into workflows without losing the productivity gains.
8Research Phases
Structuring multi-session projects. How to break complex research into phases that work with context limitations.
Advanced Building Infrastructure
Multiplying capabilities. Agent spawning, custom skills, automated hooks, and building personal AI infrastructure that grows with expertise.
Creating Helpers
How to delegate work to separate helpers that explore, execute, and report back. Like delegating to a research assistant.
10Creating Skills
Skills are recipe cards for research tasks. Write the steps once, save them in a file, and Claude follows those instructions whenever needed.
11Hooks: Automation
Automatic triggers that run without asking, like auto-save. A power-user feature, entirely optional but powerful once set up.
12Outside Services
Connecting Claude to FRED, Census, Google Scholar, and other data sources. Pull economic data without leaving the conversation.
13Building Our System
How CLAUDE.md, skills, hooks, and connections combine into a research system that becomes more valuable over time.
Suggested Reading Order
While articles work as standalone pieces, reading in order builds understanding progressively. Each tier assumes familiarity with concepts from the previous one.
Start with Basics
Read the Beginner tier to understand how Claude Code works and what context means. Takes about 30 minutes.
Solve Pain Points
Work through the Intermediate tier when ready to address frustrations with session management and context loss.
Build Systems
Tackle the Advanced tier when ready to build custom infrastructure that multiplies capabilities.
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