Introduction

The Problem

Claude Code is incredibly powerful, but getting the most out of it requires a lot of up-front configuration. You need agents for different review tasks, skills that teach Claude your project's conventions, slash commands for session management, hooks for auto-formatting, and a carefully structured CLAUDE.md that keeps Claude focused without overwhelming its context.

Most people skip all of this. They open Claude Code, type a prompt, and get decent results. But "decent" leaves a lot on the table. Boris Cherny, the creator of Claude Code at Anthropic, published a collection of tips for using Claude Code professionally. Those tips cover everything from session lifecycle to subagent orchestration to context management. Implementing them all by hand takes hours of careful setup work.

The Solution

Worclaude automates that setup. Run one command, answer a few questions about your project, and you get a complete professional workflow installed in your repository. Every file it generates is derived from Boris Cherny's tips.

Worclaude is a Node.js CLI tool that you install globally and run in any project directory. It examines your project, asks what kind of software you are building, and scaffolds the right combination of agents, skills, commands, hooks, and permissions. As of v2.0.0, all generated files integrate directly with Claude Code's runtime systems -- skills support conditional activation via file path patterns, and agents support tool restrictions, background execution, and persistent memory.

What You Get

When you run worclaude init, the following components are installed into your project:

Agents (25 total)

Agents are specialized Claude instances, each with a specific model and purpose. You always get the 5 universal agents:

• plan-reviewer (Opus) -- Reviews implementation plans like a staff engineer. Challenges assumptions and finds gaps.
• code-simplifier (Sonnet, worktree) -- Eliminates duplication, simplifies complex logic, enforces consistency.
• test-writer (Sonnet, worktree) -- Writes comprehensive tests: unit, integration, edge cases, error paths.
• build-validator (Haiku) -- Runs the build, tests, and linter. Reports failures without fixing them.
• verify-app (Sonnet, worktree) -- Tests the running application end-to-end against the specification.

On top of these, you choose from 20 optional agents across 6 categories (Backend, Frontend, DevOps, Quality, Documentation, Data/AI). Worclaude recommends agents based on your project type, so you do not have to guess.

Skills (15 total)

Skills are knowledge files that Claude loads on demand, stored in directory format (skill-name/SKILL.md). They teach Claude how your project works without bloating the main context. You get 11 universal skills covering context management, git conventions, planning, session handoffs, prompt engineering, verification, testing, CLAUDE.md maintenance, subagent usage, security, and coordinator mode. You also get 3 template skills (backend-conventions, frontend-design-system, project-patterns) that serve as placeholders for your project-specific details. Finally, you get 1 generated skill — agent-routing — a dynamic routing guide that tells Claude exactly when and how to use each installed agent, built from your specific agent selections.

Some skills are conditional — they load automatically only when working on files matching specific path patterns (e.g., testing skills load only when touching test files). See Claude Code Integration for details.

Slash Commands (16 total)

Commands give you a session lifecycle. /start reads your progress file, detects drift since the last session, and orients Claude. /end writes a handoff document for mid-task stops. /commit-push-pr stages, commits, pushes, and opens a pull request. /verify runs your full test and build pipeline. /setup interviews you about your project and fills in all the template files automatically. The full set: /start, /end, /commit-push-pr, /review-plan, /techdebt, /verify, /compact-safe, /status, /update-claude-md, /setup, /sync, /conflict-resolver, /review-changes, /build-fix, /refactor-clean, /test-coverage.

Hooks

Hooks are installed automatically:

• SessionStart -- Auto-loads CLAUDE.md, PROGRESS.md, last session summary, and branch name when Claude starts.
• PostToolUse (Write/Edit) -- Auto-formats code after every file change, using the right formatter for your tech stack.
• PostCompact -- Re-reads CLAUDE.md and PROGRESS.md after context compaction, so Claude never loses orientation.
• Stop -- Sends an OS notification when Claude finishes and needs your attention.

Hook profiles (WORCLAUDE_HOOK_PROFILE) let you control strictness: minimal (session context only), standard (all hooks, the default), or strict (all hooks plus TypeScript checking on every edit).

Permissions and Sandbox

A comprehensive settings.json with pre-approved permissions for common development tools (git, build tools, formatters, file operations) so Claude does not constantly ask for permission. Sandbox mode is enabled with auto-allow for structural safety.

CLAUDE.md

A lean, structured CLAUDE.md (under 50 lines) that follows the progressive disclosure pattern. It points to skills for detail instead of trying to contain everything. Includes sections for Key Files, Tech Stack, Commands, Skills, Session Protocol, Critical Rules, and Gotchas.

For Experienced Claude Code Users

If you already know Boris Cherny's tips or have read howborisusesclaudecode.com, Worclaude codifies those patterns into installable files. You can think of it as a starter kit that gives you a solid baseline. After installation, you customize everything to fit your specific project.

The agents follow Anthropic's recommended model assignments. Skills follow Thariq's skill authoring standards (skip the obvious, build gotchas sections, use progressive disclosure). Commands implement the session lifecycle pattern that Boris describes.

What Worclaude Is NOT

Worclaude is a scaffolding tool. It is not a replacement for Claude Code itself. It does not run Claude, manage sessions, or interact with the AI in any way. What it does is set up the configuration files that make Claude Code work at its best.

After Worclaude finishes, you still need to:

1. Launch Claude Code yourself (claude --worktree --tmux)
2. Run /setup to fill in project-specific details through a guided interview
3. Write your SPEC.md with your project's requirements
4. Do the actual development work with Claude

Worclaude handles the boilerplate so you can focus on building.

Next Steps

• Getting Started -- Full walkthrough of installing and running Worclaude
• Existing Projects -- How Worclaude handles projects that already have Claude Code configured
• Upgrading -- Keeping your workflow up to date
• Workflow Tips -- Best practices for working with Claude Code after setup