The Explore-Plan-Code Workflow

1. The Explore-Plan-Code Workflow

You've seen what Claude Code can do. Now let's talk about how to use it well.

2. The "Dive In" Problem

The temptation is to ask Claude to build something right away. But without context, Claude is guessing, and it shows. Wrong patterns, missed dependencies, broken functionality. The issue isn't the model. It's the approach.

3. The Workflow

The solution is a structured workflow: initialize, explore, plan, then code. Give Claude time to understand the project before writing anything. This isn't slowing down. It's how experienced developers approach unfamiliar codebases, and it's what makes AI output reliable.

4. API Project Overview

That's the workflow. Now let's put it into practice with the project you'll use throughout this course. It's a Music Analytics API with routes, models, and analytics functions already in place. Understanding it now pays off in every chapter. First, let's see how Claude keeps track of it.

5. CLAUDE.md: Project Memory

Initializing a project means giving Claude persistent context about your codebase. That's what CLAUDE.md is for: it captures your project structure, patterns, conventions, and things to avoid. Claude reads it automatically every session, so you never have to re-explain your setup. Let's create one.

6. Start with /init

The project has no CLAUDE.md yet. Running /init tells Claude to scan the codebase and generate one. Here's a portion of what it captured: project structure, API endpoints, how to run the app, and coding conventions like type hints and docstrings. Run this once. Claude handles the rest automatically every session.

7. Plan Mode

With project context in place, it's time for the next step: planning. Toggle Plan mode with Shift+Tab or /plan. Instead of writing code, Claude reads your codebase and produces a plan first. Then hit Ctrl+G to review and adjust it in your terminal editor. All of this happens before a single line of code is written.

8. Skipping Planning

Here's what happens without Plan mode. Ask Claude to add a login endpoint and it starts writing immediately, no exploration. It produces something functional, but using flask login, a library that doesn't exist anywhere else in the project. The code works in isolation. It just doesn't fit.

9. Plan First, Then Code

Now let's turn Plan mode on. Same prompt, but this time Claude explores first. It reads existing routes, checks how sessions are handled, maps the architecture. Here's the plan. Notice what's missing: no flask login, no new libraries. Claude found the existing session infrastructure and built around it. Explore first, and the plan fits. Skip it, and you're guessing. For deeper analysis, there's one more tool.

10. Extended Thinking

When a task has multiple valid approaches, prefix your prompt with "think." Claude reasons through the options, weighing trade-offs rather than defaulting to the first solution.

11. Levels of Thinking

And "think" is just the starting point. There are four more levels: "think more," "think a lot," "think longer," and "ultrathink". Each triggering progressively deeper reasoning. Match the thinking level to the complexity of the task. A small change to your prompt, with a meaningful impact on output quality.

12. Managing Context Window and Tokens

Claude's session memory has a limit: the context window. Every prompt, response, and file Claude reads fills it with tokens, roughly four characters each. When it gets full, earlier context drops off and output quality degrades. If you see "context window exceeded," run /clear and start fresh. One thing worth knowing: Claude prioritizes recent conversation when context gets tight, so keeping sessions focused helps you get more out of each one.

13. The Complete Workflow

Put it all together and this is the workflow you'll follow throughout the course. /init gives Claude project memory. From there: explore, plan, review; only then do you code. Test your changes, refine, and repeat. That's what makes Claude a reliable collaborator, not a source of extra cleanup.

14. Let's Practice!

Planning isn't overhead, it's what makes Claude Code reliable. Now it's your turn.

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