ap-optimal-claude

Claude Code Best Practices

Save tokens, reduce costs, and get better results from Claude Code.

Based on official Anthropic documentation, community benchmarks, and real-world testing. These practices can reduce your Claude Code usage by 50-70%.

Get Started

Interactive Setup Wizard (recommended)

Step-by-step guide designed for non-technical users. Takes about 10 minutes.

Open index.html in your browser or view online: coach-foundation.github.io/claude-code-best-practices

The wizard walks you through:

1. Choosing between fresh install or smart optimizer
2. Running the setup command
3. Verifying it works
4. Installing recommended plugins
5. Learning essential commands
6. Saving money with best practices

Quick Option A: Fresh Install

New to Claude Code or want optimized defaults? One-command setup (backs up your existing files):

git clone https://github.com/Coach-Foundation/claude-code-best-practices.git
cd claude-code-best-practices
python3 claude-setup.py || python claude-setup.py

Then use cc instead of claude to start.

Quick Option B: Smart Optimizer

Have existing settings you want to keep? Claude analyzes your setup and merges best practices without overwriting customizations:

git clone https://github.com/Coach-Foundation/claude-code-best-practices.git
cd claude-code-best-practices/smart-optimizer
claude

Claude will automatically walk you through the recommendations.

Option C: Read the Full Guide

Open claude-code-best-practices.html in your browser for a visual, non-technical guide. Save as PDF with Cmd+P / Ctrl+P.

Or view it online: coach-foundation.github.io/claude-code-best-practices/claude-code-best-practices.html

What Gets Configured

Setting	What it does	Impact
MAX_THINKING_TOKENS=10000	Caps expensive thinking tokens	~70% thinking cost reduction
Subagent model: Haiku	Uses cheaper model for helper tasks	~80% cheaper subagents
Effort level: medium	Reduces output verbosity	50-70% fewer output tokens
Auto-compact: 75%	Triggers compaction earlier	More buffer, fewer emergencies
Context Efficiency rules	Stops Claude from echoing, narrating, re-reading	Major output reduction
.claudeignore	Blocks scanning of junk files	Prevents context blowups

Recommended Plugins

After setup, start a Claude Code session and install these:

/install-plugin superpowers      # Structured workflows (planning, TDD, code review)
/install-plugin context7          # Always-current library documentation
/install-plugin code-simplifier   # Code quality reviews

Contributing

Found a tip that saves tokens? Open a PR or issue.

License

MIT