Learn these six habits and you're most of the way there. The whole game, up top, then a little more on the ones that matter most.
The quick version. Come back to this list any time.
/primeIt reads your whole business before it lifts a finger, your context, your files, where things stand. Skip it and Claude is working blind. One word, every time you sit down.
/exploreIdea, solution, skill or build, run /explore first. It shapes the rough idea into something buildable and asks you clarifying questions before anything gets made, so it builds the right thing, not the first thing.
Do a task, commit, then start a fresh session, and keep half an eye on your context window. More on this in Sessions →
Never send it off unread, that's where it bites you. If something's wrong, tell it exactly what's wrong and say "make it better." Two or three passes to a great result is normal, not a failure.
Once you've got a result you love, tell it to save the whole process as a skill. It remembers how you like it and the mistakes to avoid, so you never explain that task again.
The files Claude reads every session are what make it yours. Keep them right and everything gets sharper. More in Your files →
/exploreThe single habit that fixes the most frustration.
The number one reason output comes back wrong is that it built too soon, off half a brief, and guessed the rest. The fix is to make it think first. That's what /explore is for.
Whenever you've got a new idea, a solution you want, or a new skill to add, start with /explore. It will:
It's tempting to jump straight to building, that's where the excitement is. But the plan is what stops you building the wrong thing beautifully. Even for bigger jobs, a few minutes of /explore up front saves you hours of redoing it.
You don't need the perfect command.
Tell it to keep things tidy and file everything in the right place. It will, and it keeps your workspace clean without you thinking about it.
If you don't understand something, just say so. Ask it to walk you through it in plain English. It's a patient teacher.
Hold to dictate and just talk. You'll give far more useful context in 30 seconds of talking than of typing, and better context means better output.
If you can say what you want in normal words, it can help. You don't need to know the "right" way to ask.