Claude Code in Production: 12 Tips After 10,000+ API Calls

Claude Code in Production: 12 Tips After 10,000+ API Calls I've run Claude Code for thousands of tasks building 264 AI engineering frameworks. Here's what I wish I knew on day one — the stuff that isn't in the docs. Context Management (Tips 1-4) 1. Front-Load Context, Not Instructions ❌ Bad: Refactor the auth module to use JWT refresh tokens with rotation, implement PKCE flow, add rate limiting per user... ✅ Good: Here's the current auth module: [paste code] Here's the failing test: [paste test] Here's our security requirements doc: [paste doc] The refresh token implementation has a race condition under load. Fix it while maintaining the existing API contract. Why: Claude Code performs dramatically better when it understands the codebase first, then gets a focused task. Long instruction lists lead to partial implementations. 2. Use AGENTS.md as Your Session Primer Create an AGENTS.md at project root: # AGENTS.md ## Stack: Next.js 15 + TypeScript + Prisma + PostgreSQL ## Style: Function