Ultra Instinct Claude Code

Learn Claude Code in one sitting, not one semester.
176 tips across 15 sections. Nothing to install. Just read.

Browse all tips · Cheat sheet · llms.txt · Sources

Using Claude to read this repo? Don't load everything. Point it at llms.txt for a condensed version, or at specific tip files like tips/01-setup.md. Each file stands on its own -- Problem, Do this, Why format. No need to ingest the whole thing.

Why we made this

There are dozens of Claude Code repos. Most are either awesome-lists with hundreds of unsorted links, installable toolkits that want you to set up 135 agents before you write a line of code, or meta-prompting frameworks that take days to configure. All of them assume you want to install something.

We just wanted to get better at Claude Code in an afternoon.

So we cloned 17 of the most popular repos, read through all of them, and pulled out what actually matters. When a tip showed up independently in 3+ repos, we paid attention. When it only appeared in one, we were skeptical. The result is 176 tips that survived that filter.

What's out there	What you get	How long until it's useful
Awesome-lists	Hundreds of links to sort through	Hours of browsing
Agent toolkits	"Install 135 agents, 35 skills, 42 commands"	Setup + learning curve
Config frameworks	Meta-prompting systems	Days of tweaking
This repo	176 tips you can read and use immediately	30 min

Full source list with star counts: SOURCES.md.

Where to start

Depends on where you are:

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
Teaching Claude these patterns	Feed it `llms.txt`	Instant

Tips are tagged Beginner through Expert and rated by impact (High / Medium / Low). Skip what you already know.

Shortcuts worth memorizing

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.

All 15 sections

Getting started

#	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

Core skills

#	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

Workflows

#	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

Quality

#	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

Multi-agent

#	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

Ecosystem

#	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

Optimization

#	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 |

Top 10 tips (community consensus)

These showed up independently in 3+ source repos. If you only read 10 things, read these.

#	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 will catch its own mistakes.
3	Git worktrees for parallel work	Intermediate	3 Claude sessions, 3 branches, zero waiting. The single biggest productivity unlock.
4	Invest in CLAUDE.md	Beginner	Every correction you add 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	Tell Claude the outcome you want. It 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.

Sources

Every tip traces back to a public repo. We read through all 17, extracted what worked, and threw away the rest. Full list: SOURCES.md.

Contributing

Found something wrong or have a tip worth adding? CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT

ultra-instinct-claude-code