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Common workflows

> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Claude Code Knowledge Pack7/10/2026

Overview

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Common workflows

Step-by-step guides for exploring codebases, fixing bugs, refactoring, testing, and other everyday tasks with Claude Code.

This page covers practical workflows for everyday development: exploring unfamiliar code, debugging, refactoring, writing tests, creating PRs, and managing sessions. Each section includes example prompts you can adapt to your own projects. For higher-level patterns and tips, see Best practices.

Understand new codebases

Get a quick codebase overview

Suppose you've just joined a new project and need to understand its structure quickly.

```bash theme={null}
cd /path/to/project 
```



```bash theme={null}
claude 
```



```text theme={null}
give me an overview of this codebase
```



```text theme={null}
explain the main architecture patterns used here
```

```text theme={null}
what are the key data models?
```

```text theme={null}
how is authentication handled?
```

Tips:

  • Start with broad questions, then narrow down to specific areas
  • Ask about coding conventions and patterns used in the project
  • Request a glossary of project-specific terms

Find relevant code

Suppose you need to locate code related to a specific feature or functionality.

```text theme={null}
find the files that handle user authentication
```



```text theme={null}
how do these authentication files work together?
```



```text theme={null}
trace the login process from front-end to database
```

Tips:

  • Be specific about what you're looking for
  • Use domain language from the project
  • Install a code intelligence plugin for your language to give Claude precise "go to definition" and "find references" navigation

Fix bugs efficiently

Suppose you've encountered an error message and need to find and fix its source.

```text theme={null}
I'm seeing an error when I run npm test
```



```text theme={null}
suggest a few ways to fix the @ts-ignore in user.ts
```



```text theme={null}
update user.ts to add the null check you suggested
```

Tips:

  • Tell Claude the command to reproduce the issue and get a stack trace
  • Mention any steps to reproduce the error
  • Let Claude know if the error is intermittent or consistent

Refactor code

Suppose you need to update old code to use modern patterns and practices.

```text theme={null}
find deprecated API usage in our codebase
```



```text theme={null}
suggest how to refactor utils.js to use modern JavaScript features
```



```text theme={null}
refactor utils.js to use ES2024 features while maintaining the same behavior
```



```text theme={null}
run tests for the refactored code
```

Tips:

  • Ask Claude to explain the benefits of the modern approach
  • Request that changes maintain backward compatibility when needed
  • Do refactoring in small, testable increments

Use specialized subagents

Suppose you want to use specialized AI subagents to handle specific tasks more effectively.

```text theme={null}
/agents
```

This shows all available subagents and lets you create new ones.



Claude Code automatically delegates appropriate tasks to specialized subagents:

```text theme={null}
review my recent code changes for security issues
```

```text theme={null}
run all tests and fix any failures
```



```text theme={null}
use the code-reviewer subagent to check the auth module
```

```text theme={null}
have the debugger subagent investigate why users can't log in
```



```text theme={null}
/agents
```

Then select "Create New subagent" and follow the prompts to define:

* A unique identifier that describes the subagent's purpose (for example, `code-reviewer`, `api-designer`).
* When Claude should use this agent
* Which tools it can access
* A system prompt describing the agent's role and behavior

Tips:

  • Create project-specific subagents in .claude/agents/ for team sharing
  • Use descriptive description fields to enable automatic delegation
  • Limit tool access to what each subagent actually needs
  • Check the subagents documentation for detailed examples

Use Plan Mode for safe code analysis

Plan Mode instructs Claude to create a plan by analyzing the codebase with read-only operations, perfect for exploring codebases, planning complex changes, or reviewing code safely. In Plan Mode, Claude uses AskUserQuestion to gather requirements and clarify your goals before proposing a plan.

When to use Plan Mode

  • Multi-step implementation: When your feature requires making edits to many files
  • Code exploration: When you want to research the codebase thoroughly before changing anything
  • Interactive development: When you want to iterate on the direction with Claude

How to use Plan Mode

Turn on Plan Mode during a session

You can switch into Plan Mode during a session using Shift+Tab to cycle through permission modes.

If you are in Normal Mode, Shift+Tab first switches into Auto-Accept Mode, indicated by ⏵⏵ accept edits on at the bottom of the terminal. A subsequent Shift+Tab will switch into Plan Mode, indicated by ⏸ plan mode on.

Start a new session in Plan Mode

To start a new session in Plan Mode, use the --permission-mode plan flag:

claude --permission-mode plan

Run "headless" queries in Plan Mode

You can also run a query in Plan Mode directly with -p (that is, in "headless mode"):

claude --permission-mode plan -p "Analyze the authentication system and suggest improvements"

Example: Planning a complex refactor

claude --permission-mode plan

I need to refactor our authentication system to use OAuth2. Create a detailed migration plan.

Claude analyzes the current implementation and create a comprehensive plan. Refine with follow-ups:

What about backward compatibility?

How should we handle database migration?

Press Ctrl+G to open the plan in your default text editor, where you can edit it directly before Claude proceeds.

When you accept a plan, Claude automatically names the session from the plan content. The name appears on the prompt bar and in the session picker. If you've already set a name with --name or /rename, accepting a plan won't overwrite it.

Configure Plan Mode as default

// .claude/settings.json
{
  "permissions": {
    "defaultMode": "plan"
  }
}

See settings documentation for more configuration options.

Work with tests

Suppose you need to add tests for uncovered code.

```text theme={null}
find functions in NotificationsService.swift that are not covered by tests
```



```text theme={null}
add tests for the notification service
```



```text theme={null}
add test cases for edge conditions in the notification service
```



```text theme={null}
run the new tests and fix any failures
```

Claude can generate tests that follow your project's existing patterns and conventions. When asking for tests, be specific about what behavior you want to verify. Claude examines your existing test files to match the style, frameworks, and assertion patterns already in use.

For comprehensive coverage, ask Claude to identify edge cases you might have missed. Claude can analyze your code paths and suggest tests for error conditions, boundary values, and unexpected inputs that are easy to overlook.

Create pull requests

You can create pull requests by asking Claude directly ("create a pr for my changes"), or guide Claude through it step-by-step:

```text theme={null}
summarize the changes I've made to the authentication module
```



```text theme={null}
create a pr
```



```text theme={null}
enhance the PR description with more context about the security improvements
```

When you create a PR using gh pr create, the session is automatically linked to that PR. You can resume it later with claude --from-pr <number>.

Review Claude's generated PR before submitting and ask Claude to highlight potential risks or considerations.

Handle documentation

Suppose you need to add or update documentation for your code.

```text theme={null}
find functions without proper JSDoc comments in the auth module
```



```text theme={null}
add JSDoc comments to the undocumented functions in auth.js
```



```text theme={null}
improve the generated documentation with more context and examples
```



```text theme={null}
check if the documentation follows our project standards
```

Tips:

  • Specify the documentation style you want (JSDoc, docstrings, etc.)
  • Ask for examples in the documentation
  • Request documentation for public APIs, interfaces, and complex logic

Work in notes and non-code folders

Claude Code works in any directory. Run it inside a notes vault, a documentation folder, or any collection of markdown files to search, edit, and reorganize content the same way you would code.

The .claude/ directory and CLAUDE.md sit alongside other tools' config directories without conflict. Claude reads files fresh on each tool call, so it sees edits you make in another application the next time it reads that file.

Work with images

Suppose you need to work with images in your codebase, and you want Claude's help analyzing image content.

You can use any of these methods:

1. Drag and drop an image into the Claude Code window
2. Copy an image and paste it into the CLI with ctrl+v (Do not use cmd+v)
3. Provide an image path to Claude. E.g., "Analyze this image: /path/to/your/image.png"



```text theme={null}
What does this image show?
```

```text theme={null}
Describe the UI elements in this screenshot
```

```text theme={null}
Are there any problematic elements in this diagram?
```



```text theme={null}
Here's a screenshot of the error. What's causing it?
```

```text theme={null}
This is our current database schema. How should we modify it for the new feature?
```



```text theme={null}
Generate CSS to match this design mockup
```

```text theme={null}
What HTML structure would recreate this component?
```

Tips:

  • Use images when text descriptions would be unclear or cumbersome
  • Include screenshots of errors, UI designs, or diagrams for better context
  • You can work with multiple images in a conversation
  • Image analysis works with diagrams, screenshots, mockups, and more
  • When Claude references images (for example, [Image #1]), Cmd+Click (Mac) or Ctrl+Click (Windows/Linux) the link to open the image in your default viewer

Reference files and directories

Use @ to quickly include files or directories without waiting for Claude to read them.

```text theme={null}
Explain the logic in @src/utils/auth.js
```

This includes the full content of the file in the conversation.



```text theme={null}
What's the structure of @src/components?
```

This provides a directory listing with file information.



```text theme={null}
Show me the data from @github:repos/owner/repo/issues
```

This fetches data from connected MCP servers using the format @server:resource. See [MCP resources](/en/mcp#use-mcp-resources) for details.

Tips:

  • File paths can be relative or absolute
  • @ file references add CLAUDE.md in the file's directory and parent directories to context
  • Directory references show file listings, not contents
  • You can reference multiple files in a single message (for example, "@file1.js and @file2.js")

Use extended thinking (thinking mode)

Extended thinking is enabled by default, giving Claude space to reason through complex problems step-by-step before responding. This reasoning is visible in verbose mode, which you can toggle on with Ctrl+O. During extended thinking, the spinner shows