Common Workflows
Every developer who uses Claude Code regularly discovers a handful of patterns that make everything easier. This section is a catalog of those patterns — practical prompts and techniques for everyday coding tasks.
This is not about power-user automation or running dozens of Claude instances simultaneously. That is Creator Workflows — Boris Cherny’s advanced patterns from months of production use at Anthropic. What you will find here is the foundation: the prompts that work for exploring unfamiliar codebases, fixing bugs efficiently, and managing Claude sessions like a professional.
These patterns are composable. As your tasks get more complex, combine them: explore the codebase first, then debug with full context, then open a PR — all in one session.
How Claude Approaches Every Task
When you give Claude a task, it works through three phases. Understanding this loop helps you write better prompts and know when to intervene.
Gather context — Claude reads files, searches the codebase, checks your git state. It builds a model of your project before touching anything.
Take action — edits, commands, tests, new files. Claude chains dozens of steps, course-correcting based on what it learns.
Verify results — runs tests, checks types, reads output. If something fails, Claude loops back to gather context on the failure and tries again.
You can interrupt at any point. If Claude is going in the wrong direction, type a correction and press Enter. You do not have to wait for it to finish.
What Is in This Section
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Codebase Exploration | Getting oriented in a new repo — broad-to-narrow prompts, finding specific code, understanding before changing |
| Debugging | Sharing errors effectively, writing failing tests first, using plan mode for complex bugs |
| Prompting Patterns | @file references, images, Unix pipes, being specific upfront — techniques that work everywhere |
| Session Workflows | Creating PRs, desktop notifications, parallel sessions with worktrees, rewinding mistakes |
These Patterns Compose
Start with one. Try it on your next real task. Then add another when you need it.
The patterns compound naturally. Once you are comfortable with @file references (prompting patterns), your debugging prompts become more precise. Once you know how to rewind (session workflows), you feel free to let Claude experiment on complex bugs. Once you have explored the codebase (exploration), your PR descriptions write themselves.
Related: For power-user patterns — parallelization, voice coding, verification loops,
/schedule— see Creator Workflows.