We read 17 Claude Code repos so you don't have to.
176 tips. 30 minutes. Nothing to install.
Browse all tips · Cheat sheet · Plugins & skills · llms.txt · Sources
Using Claude to read this repo? Point it at
llms.txtfor the condensed version, or at individual tip files liketips/01-setup.md. Each file stands on its own. No need to load everything.
The Claude Code ecosystem has 400k+ GitHub stars spread across dozens of repos. Most of them want you to install something -- 135 agents, 60 commands, a config framework that takes days to set up. Others hand you a list of 200 links and wish you luck.
We wanted something simpler. We cloned 17 of the biggest repos, read through all of them, and kept what actually held up. The filter: if a tip showed up independently in 3 or more repos, it probably matters. If it only appeared in one, we were skeptical. 176 tips survived.
You don't install anything. You just read.
| What's out there | What's here | How long |
|---|---|---|
| "Install 135 agents, 35 skills, 42 commands" | 176 tips you read and use immediately | 30 min |
| Awesome-lists with hundreds of links | Filtered by consensus, organized by skill level | 5 min to find what you need |
| Config frameworks | Nothing to install | Instant |
Full source list: SOURCES.md.
| You are... | Start here | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Never used Claude Code | 01 Setup | 10 min to running |
| Know the basics, want to level up | Top 10 tips below | 5 min |
| Looking for a specific command | Cheat sheet | 1 min |
| Want plugins or frameworks | Plugins directory | Browse |
| Teaching Claude these patterns | Feed it llms.txt |
Instant |
Tips are tagged Beginner through Expert and rated by impact. Skip what you know.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
Shift+Tab (x2) |
Plan Mode -- plan before you code |
/compact |
Compress conversation context |
/clear |
Wipe everything, fresh start |
Esc |
Stop Claude mid-response |
Ctrl+B |
Background a running command |
Ctrl+G |
Open your prompt in an external editor |
claude -c |
Pick up your last session |
claude --add-dir ../repo |
Give Claude access to another repo |
"ultrathink" |
Extended reasoning for hard problems |
Everything else is in the cheat sheet.
| # | Section | Tips | What's inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Setup | 11 | Install, config, models, sandbox, custom agents, /init |
| 02 | CLAUDE.md Mastery | 14 | Project memory, hierarchy, @imports, char limits, modular rules |
| # | Section | Tips | What's inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | Context Management | 16 | Window management, /compact, handoffs, the 3-file pattern, /context |
| 04 | Commands & Shortcuts | 14 | Slash commands, keys, /branch, /teleport, session management |
| # | Section | Tips | What's inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05 | Git & GitHub | 8 | Worktrees, PRs, /commit-push-pr, --from-pr |
| 06 | Prompting | 12 | Declarative prompts, thinking triggers, instruction budgets |
| 07 | Planning & Specs | 13 | Plan mode, the interview pattern, vertical slices, confidence checks |
| # | Section | Tips | What's inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08 | Testing & Verification | 11 | Feedback loops, TDD, regression gates, cross-model QA |
| 14 | Security & Permissions | 8 | Sandbox, deny rules, credential scrubbing, supply chain scanning |
| # | Section | Tips | What's inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09 | Agents & Orchestration | 13 | Custom agents, agent teams, the Ralph loop, model routing |
| 10 | Hooks & Automation | 14 | 22+ hook events, prompt-based hooks, HTTP hooks, profiles |
| # | Section | Tips | What's inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Skills & Marketplace | 10 | Skills, the plugin marketplace, custom commands, Context7 |
| 12 | MCP & Tools | 8 | MCP servers, tool budgets, CLI alternatives, OAuth |
| # | Section | Tips | What's inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Performance & Cost | 15 | Token optimization, caching, PTC, model routing |
| 15 | Advanced Patterns | 9 | Pipelines, self-improvement loops, sprint workflows |
| -- | Cheat sheet | -- | Every command, flag, and keyboard shortcut | | -- | Plugins directory | -- | Curated plugins, skills, MCP servers, and tools |
These showed up independently in 3+ source repos. If you only read 10 things:
| # | Tip | Level | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plan before you code | Beginner | Shift+Tab twice. The plan is the highest-leverage part. |
| 2 | Give Claude a feedback loop | Beginner | Put your test/lint commands in CLAUDE.md. Claude catches its own mistakes. |
| 3 | Git worktrees for parallel work | Intermediate | 3 Claude sessions, 3 branches, zero waiting. Biggest productivity unlock. |
| 4 | Invest in CLAUDE.md | Beginner | Every correction carries forward. Saves you from repeating yourself for months. |
| 5 | Treat context like RAM | Intermediate | /clear between tasks, /compact at milestones. Quality drops when context fills up. |
| 6 | Subagents for exploration | Advanced | Offload file-reading to a subagent. Only the summary comes back to your main session. |
| 7 | Say what, not how | Beginner | Describe the outcome. Claude has the full codebase and can figure out the steps. |
| 8 | Let Claude interview you first | Intermediate | 15 minutes of questions before coding beats 2 hours of rework after. |
| 9 | Trigger deeper thinking | Intermediate | Type "ultrathink" when the default reasoning isn't enough. |
| 10 | Keep sessions short | Beginner | 10-30 min with a clear goal. Long sessions drift and cost more. |
In Dragon Ball, Ultra Instinct is when your body moves on its own -- you've trained so much that the right reaction just happens without thinking about it.
Same idea here. Once you internalize these patterns, you stop fighting the tool. You stop writing five-paragraph prompts and start getting good output on the first try. The name is a bit much, but the concept is real.
Every tip traces back to a public repo. We read all 17, kept what held up, and tossed the rest. SOURCES.md.
Found something wrong or have a tip worth adding? CONTRIBUTING.md.