Daily Workflow¶

A pragmatic guide to using Claude Code throughout your development day.

Start of Day¶

1. Pull Latest and Start Fresh¶

git pull origin dev

Open Claude Code in your project directory. Start with a clean context:

/clear

2. Pick a Task¶

Start a task from YouTrack — this fetches the issue, creates a branch from dev, and assigns it to you:

/sq-dev:start-task

Or if you've already got a branch, just start working.

The Implementation Loop¶

For each task, follow the Explore → Plan → Code → Commit cycle. See the full workflow guide for the detailed version.

3. Explore First¶

Read the files in src/[relevant-domain] and understand the existing patterns.
Look at how similar features are implemented. Don't write any code yet.

Don't skip this step

Skipping exploration is the #1 cause of inconsistent AI-generated code. Claude produces dramatically better output when it reads existing patterns first.

4. Plan¶

Plan how to implement [feature] following the patterns you found.
Create a written plan. Don't implement yet.

Review the plan. Ask Claude to adjust if needed. Only proceed when the plan looks right.

5. Implement Task by Task¶

Implement step 1 from the plan. Run tests after the change.

After each step:

Verify tests pass
Check that the hook auto-ran linting
Move to the next step

Implement step 2 from the plan. Run tests.

6. Review and Commit¶

Run the code review pipeline before committing:

/sq-dev:full-review depth:quick target:staged

Then commit with auto-generated conventional commit message:

/sq-dev:make-commit

7. Close the Task¶

When everything is done, squash-merge back to dev and update YouTrack:

/sq-dev:close-task

Between Tasks¶

Clear Context¶

/clear

Always clear between unrelated tasks. Context from task A will confuse task B.

Long Sessions¶

If you're working on a related series of changes and context is getting large:

/compact

Check usage with /context if unsure.

End of Day¶

1. Document What You Learned¶

If you discovered something useful during the day:

/memory

Add notes about patterns, gotchas, or decisions made.

2. Update Blockers¶

If a task is blocked, leave a comment on the YouTrack issue with what you learned and what's needed.

3. Clean Up¶

Close any stale Claude Code sessions
Push any WIP branches
Update issue status in YouTrack

Common Scenarios¶

Quick Bug Fix¶

/clear
Read src/auth/router.py and understand the login flow.
There's a bug where invalid emails cause a 500. Find the issue, fix it,
write a test, and create a commit.

Code Review¶

Run the full review pipeline on your branch:

/sq-dev:full-review target:branch

Or review someone else's changes:

/clear
Review the changes in PR #87. Check for hallucinated APIs, type safety,
and consistency with our patterns.

Refactoring¶

/clear
I need to extract the email validation logic from src/auth/router.py
into a shared validator. Explore the codebase for existing validators first,
then plan the refactoring. Don't code until I approve the plan.

Learning a New Part of the Codebase¶

/clear
Use a subagent to explore the compute-server module.
Summarize the architecture, key patterns, and how it connects to the main API.

Tips¶

Start each task with /clear — fresh context produces better results
Read before writing — always explore existing patterns first
Plan before coding — use high effort level for non-trivial changes
Test after each change — don't accumulate untested changes
Keep PRs under 400 lines — AI tends to produce larger changes; split them
Use subagents for exploration — keeps your main context clean
Use /memory to save learnings — build institutional knowledge across sessions