Claude Code Quickstart

A plug-and-play starter kit for building real projects with Claude. Works with any tool that supports Claude — no special setup required.

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Works With Any Claude-Powered Tool

This repo doesn't care which tool you use. Just open your project in any of these and start talking to Claude:

Tool	How to use this repo
Claude Desktop	Open the folder as a project
Claude Code (terminal)	Run claude inside the repo folder
VS Code + Claude extension	Open the repo in VS Code
Cursor / Windsurf	Open the repo as your workspace
Antigravity (Google)	Open the repo in the Antigravity IDE

Claude reads CLAUDE.md at the start of every session to understand your project and which commands are available. That's the only integration needed.

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Before You Start

New to GitHub and the terminal? Start here first:

ccforeveryone.com — Learn the basics of GitHub, the terminal, and getting Claude Code set up. Once you're comfortable, come back here.

Github for non-technical roles - A slightly older guide with a lot more explanation just about Github which is useful to understand. You won't need to know the exact git commands they talk about here but it does a great job defining things.

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Getting Started

Step 1 — Fork this repo

Click Fork in the top-right corner of this page on GitHub. This creates your own copy to build on.

Step 2 — Clone it to your computer

git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/claude-code-quickstart.git
cd claude-code-quickstart

Step 3 — Open it in your tool of choice

Then open the folder in whichever Claude-powered tool you use.

Step 4 — Type /start

This is a first-time setup command. Claude will ask you a few questions about your project, update the config files, and point you to the right next step.

/start

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The 7-Step Workflow

Once you're set up, everything runs through this cycle:

Step	Command	What It Does
0	/start	First-time setup — orient Claude to your project
1	/brainstorm	Turn your idea into a clear design
2	/plan	Break the design into step-by-step tasks
3	/build	Write the code, test-first
4	/audit	Review what was built for quality
5	/kaizen	Clean up and improve what exists
6	/log	Track bugs, ideas, or tech debt
7	/closeout	Save progress, commit, and push

Repeat this cycle for every feature or change.

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What's In This Repo

.agent/workflows/     # The slash commands above
skills/               # Reference guides Claude uses during each workflow
  debugging/          # Finding and fixing bugs systematically
  kaizen/             # Continuous improvement methodology
  test-driven-development/  # RED-GREEN-REFACTOR patterns
  ui-development/     # Building clean, user-centered interfaces
  writing-skills/     # How to write good prompts and skill files
tests/                # Example projects showing the full workflow in action
docs/                 # Plans, bootstrapping guide, release notes
plans/                # Your implementation plans (start with TEMPLATE.md)
PROJECT_HISTORY.md    # Your running log of decisions and progress
CLAUDE.md             # Operating manual — Claude reads this every session

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Example Projects

See tests/subagent-driven-dev/ for two worked examples:

• go-fractals — a CLI app that generates fractal images
• svelte-todo — a simple to-do app in Svelte

Each includes a design doc, plan, and scaffold script showing the full cycle.

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Tips for Beginners

• Run /start first — it sets up your project context so Claude knows what you're building.
• Start every new feature with /brainstorm — it catches problems before they become code.
• Let Claude ask questions — the process feels slow but saves hours of rework.
• Run /closeout at the end of every session — it saves your progress and keeps history clean.
• When in doubt, just ask — type your question and Claude will tell you which command fits.

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Using This in an Existing Project

Already have code? You can drop this into any existing repo:

1. Copy .agent/workflows/ into your project root
2. Copy skills/ into your project root
3. Copy CLAUDE.md into your project root
4. Open in your Claude tool and run /start

See docs/BOOTSTRAPPING.md for details.

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Built on patterns from obra/superpowers and Awesome Claude Skills.