One strategy I'm using is to ask ClaudeCode to write a small summary of what it's done + add context for future work when it's almost done with a task. I then use /clear, ask Claude to read the document, and give it instructions on the next task.

4. Avoid auto-compacting

The last point is directly tied to this one. ClaudeCode has a context limit (the UI warns when approaching this limit) and it auto-compacts by default. The quality of compacting can sometimes be unreliable and I found it best to just workaround it.

You can ask for ClaudeCode to take notes of useful information and store it in separate md files to help build this knowledge.

A great example of useful context to provide Claude with (from @sarahjohnson.io) gist.github.com/sj-io/3828d6...

3. Knowledge

Anthropic recommends that you create a CLAUDE.md file to store important context. Currently, I'm experimenting with an entire claude/ directory stashed with useful content. Before starting a new task I ask Claude to read the relevant content.

Ex: I asked ClaudeCode to download an Excel file, import it in R, and make it tidy. The download, however, failed due to network issues and Claude decided to invent a dataset with fake values instead of stopping and pointing this error.

2. Manually approve

While ClaudeCode seems magical when it "just works" it often doesn't. Auto-accept can lead to errors that hard to detect since Claude can sometimes omit them and say that everything worked according to plan.

1. Make plans

Always start a new task in plan mode and invest some time making sure that Claude has a solid plan. A neat tip from Anthropic is to use "think more...", "think hard about potential issues...", "think step by step ... ".

"think" < "think hard" < "think harder" < "ultrathink."

Worst of all, since the numbers were generated with *data* they were heralded as an objective fact of the universe.

There's certainly some latin to know in economics: ex ante, ex post, ad hoc, per capita, ceteris paribus, de gustibus non est disputandum...

I recently made this switch. Took me about 2-3 weeks to get adjusted but I've been enjoying Positron a lot. Highly recommend reading this positron.posit.co/migrate-rstu...