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Claude Code Onboarding

Step 2 of the onboarding ladder — an LLM with hands on your files. Getting Claude Code working takes 30 minutes. Getting it working well takes one more hour. This page covers both.

By the end you will have an AI that knows your standards, follows your voice, and applies your judgment automatically — without typing the same instructions every session.

Machine​

*nix machines work best.

  • Mac
  • Ubuntu Dual Boot

See dev machines for more.

Accounts​

AI

Infra

Install​

  1. VS Code
  2. Nodejs

Open VS Code and create a project directory.

Start running a terminal in VS Code.

Install Claude Code:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Run:

claude --version

Open Session​

Navigate to your project folder in the terminal:

cd /path/to/your/project
claude

You will see the Claude Code prompt. Type anything — ask it to summarize the files in the folder, or just say "hello." This confirms it is working.

What you are looking at: an AI with access to your files. It can read, edit, create, and run commands. Nothing happens without you asking — but it can do a lot when you do.

Write CLAUDE.md​

CLAUDE.md is a file at the root of your project. Claude reads it automatically at the start of every session. It is how you teach the AI how you work.

Create the file:

touch CLAUDE.md

Open it and add this minimum viable template:

# Project Instructions

## What This Is

[One sentence describing your project]

## How to Write

- [Your voice or style — e.g. "Short sentences. No jargon."]
- [Any formatting rules — e.g. "Use headers for sections. No bullet soup."]

## What to Avoid

- [Common mistakes you do not want repeated]
- [Any off-limits actions — e.g. "Never delete files without asking."]

## Context

[Two or three sentences about who this work is for and what success looks like]

Fill it in honestly. This file compounds — the clearer it is, the better every session gets.

Creative project (content, marketing, media): focus the "How to Write" section on voice, tone, and what good looks like. "Write like Hemingway. Concrete nouns. Active verbs. No filler." is a valid rule.

Code project: focus on patterns, what frameworks are in use, and what standards to enforce. The Config Architecture guide goes deeper.

Add Rule​

Rules are always-loaded constraints — things the AI should never forget. They live in .claude/rules/ and are imported by CLAUDE.md.

Create the first rule:

mkdir -p .claude/rules

Create .claude/rules/voice.md:

# Voice

Write short. Use the active voice. No pleasantries ("Great question!").
No hedging ("It seems like..."). Direct answers only.

Add this line to CLAUDE.md:

@.claude/rules/voice.md

The @ prefix tells Claude to load that file every session. Now the voice rule is always active.

Test it: ask Claude to write a paragraph about the project. If it is still wordy or hedging, tighten the rule. Iteration is fast.

First Skill​

A skill is a reusable workflow — a set of instructions Claude follows when invoked with a slash command. Skills turn repeatable work into one-line commands.

Claude Code ships with built-in skills. Try one:

/commit

This skill reads git changes and writes a commit message following best practices. No instructions needed — the skill contains them.

Other built-in skills to explore:

  • /fix-links — finds and repairs broken internal links
  • /review-pr — reviews a pull request and flags issues

Custom skills are also markdown files. Any instruction you type repeatedly is a candidate. See Skills for how.

Cascade Starts​

You now have:

  • A CLAUDE.md that orients every session
  • A rule that enforces your voice
  • Skills you can invoke for repeatable work

That is the beginning of the Cascade:

Mantra (your intention)
  → Rule (always enforced)
    → Hook (runs automatically on every action)
      → System (you never think about it again)

You are at Rule. The next step — hooks — are shell scripts that run when Claude takes certain actions. They are optional but powerful: a hook can automatically check that every file Claude edits passes a quality test.

The pattern compounds. The longer the loop runs, the more it learns your judgment. The more it learns your judgment, the less you explain.

What Next​

To...Go to
Climb to Step 3 of the ladderHermes Onboarding
Understand the full config architectureConfig Architecture
Build your own skillsSkills
Use subagents for parallel workAgents
Choose the right AI modelLLM Comparison
See the Cascade concept in fullMantra

Context​

Questions​

What would have to be true about your CLAUDE.md for Claude to be genuinely useful after one session, without any additional instruction?

  • Which repeatable workflow would save the most time as a single slash command?
  • If the Cascade fully runs — Mantra → Rule → Hook → System — what does your work look like differently in six months?
  • Where does your judgment matter most today, and is that where the AI should learn first?