Claude Code
BuildersCoding agentAnthropic
Agentic coding tool that runs in the terminal and IDEs, reads a codebase and makes multi-file edits.
- Who it's for: people building software and AI agents
- Pricing: Included with Claude Pro/Max plans or API usage (verify on the official site)
- Official site: https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code
- Source / changelog: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/overview
Best for / Not for
Best for
- Developers working in large existing codebases
- Multi-file refactors and test-fixing loops
- Teams that want an agent in the terminal, IDE and desktop
Not for
- People who never touch a terminal or code
- Teams that cannot send code to a cloud model
3 concrete use cases
- Fix failing tests: "Run the test suite, find why the auth tests fail, fix the root cause and re-run until green. Explain the change."
- Explain an unfamiliar repo: "Give me a map of this codebase: main modules, data flow, and where payments are handled."
- Connect your tools via MCP: Add a server with claude mcp add --transport http notion https://mcp.notion.com/mcp, then: "Implement the spec in the Notion page Onboarding v2."
Pros and cons
Pros
- Works across many files and runs commands itself
- Extensible with MCP servers, plugins and hooks
- Available in terminal, IDEs and desktop
Cons
- Needs a paid Claude plan or API usage
- Agentic runs can consume a lot of usage
- You must review changes; it can be confidently wrong
How to get started with Claude Code in 10 minutes
- Install: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash (macOS/Linux) or the PowerShell command in the docs on Windows
- Open a new terminal, cd into a project and run claude
- Sign in when prompted
- Ask: "What does this project do?"
- Ask for one small change and review the diff before accepting
Playbooks using Claude Code
Comparisons
Claude Code alternatives
- Codex: OpenAI's software engineering agent, available as a CLI, IDE extension and cloud agent inside ChatGPT.
- Devin: Autonomous AI software engineer that works on tickets in its own cloud environment.
- Cline: Open-source autonomous coding agent extension for VS Code.
- Aider: Open-source AI pair programming in the terminal that edits files in your git repo.
- Gemini CLI: Open-source AI agent that brings Gemini into the terminal.
Recent changes
Weekly updates for Claude Code will be logged here as they appear in issues.