How I Set Up Claude Code to Run My Entire Dev Workflow

I've been using Claude Code as my primary development tool for the past few months. Not as a fancy autocomplete — as an actual workflow engine that handles deployments, testing, code review, and multi-step tasks autonomously. Here's the setup that made it click. The problem with default Claude Code Out of the box, Claude Code is a capable terminal assistant. But it starts fresh every session. It doesn't know your project conventions. It doesn't remember that you prefer named exports, or that your deploy script needs a specific flag, or that the auth module has a known race condition. Every session, you're re-explaining context. That's the gap. The configuration stack that changed everything 1. CLAUDE.md — project context in one file This is the single highest-leverage configuration. Create a CLAUDE.md in your project root with your tech stack, conventions, file structure, and build commands. Claude reads it automatically at session start. # Project: My App ## Stack - Next.js 14 (App Ro