Getting Started with Mastering Claude

Welcome! This guide will help you navigate the learning path based on your experience level and goals.

Choose Your Starting Point

🚀 Complete Beginner (Never used Claude Code)

Start here: Lesson 00: Quick Start (5 minutes)

This gets you a quick win and introduces the core concept.

Then follow the full path:

• Lesson 01: CLAUDE.md basics
• Lesson 02: Effective prompting
• Lesson 03: Plan mode
• Lesson 04: Memory system

Time investment: ~2 hours for lessons 00-04, then practice on real projects.

💼 Experienced Developer (Used Claude Code a few times)

You probably know: Basic prompting, file editing, running commands

You should learn:

1. Lesson 01: CLAUDE.md - Most high-leverage habit
2. Lesson 03: Plan Mode - Prevent wasted work
3. Lesson 08: Large Codebases - Navigate efficiently
4. Lesson 09: Parallelization - Work faster

Skip: Lesson 00 (too basic for you)

Time investment: ~1.5 hours, immediate productivity gains.

🔥 Power User (Using Claude Code daily)

You already know: CLAUDE.md, prompting, plan mode

You should explore:

1. Lesson 05: Hooks - Automate your workflow
2. Lesson 06: MCP Servers - Extend capabilities
3. Lesson 07: Custom Skills - Build reusable commands
4. Lesson 10: Advanced Patterns - Expert techniques

Also grab: CHEAT-SHEET.md for quick reference

Time investment: 2-3 hours spread over a week. Implement as you learn.

Learning Paths by Goal

Goal: "I want to be productive ASAP"

Fastest path to productivity:

1. 00: Quick Start - 5 min
2. 01: CLAUDE.md - 20 min
3. 03: Plan Mode - 15 min
4. Bad vs Good Examples - 15 min

Total: ~1 hour

Then start using Claude Code on real work. Reference Troubleshooting when stuck.

Goal: "I want to master Claude Code completely"

Complete mastery path:

Week 1: Foundations

• Day 1: Lessons 00-01 (Quick Start + CLAUDE.md)
• Day 2: Lesson 02 (Prompting)
• Day 3: Lesson 03 (Plan Mode)
• Day 4: Lesson 04 (Memory)
• Day 5: Practice - work on a real project, refer to lessons as needed

Week 2: Power Features

• Day 1: Lesson 05 (Hooks)
• Day 2: Lesson 06 (MCP Servers)
• Day 3: Lesson 07 (Skills)
• Day 4: Implement hooks/skills for your workflow
• Day 5: Practice

Week 3: Expert Level

• Day 1: Lesson 08 (Large Codebases)
• Day 2: Lesson 09 (Parallelization)
• Day 3: Lesson 10 (Advanced Patterns)
• Day 4-5: Apply advanced patterns to a complex project

Ongoing: Reference CHEAT-SHEET.md and Troubleshooting as needed.

Goal: "I want to fix a specific problem"

Jump directly to the relevant lesson:

How to Use This Repository

📚 The Lessons (Core Learning)

Located in /lessons/. Read these in order. Do the exercises.

Each lesson is self-contained but builds on previous concepts.

📄 The Cheat Sheet (Daily Reference)

CHEAT-SHEET.md - Print this. Keep it visible. Reference daily.

One-page summary of all commands, patterns, and best practices.

📋 The Templates (Starting Points)

Located in /templates/. Copy these to start new projects.

• CLAUDE.md - Complete project instructions template

🔍 The Examples (Learn by Comparison)

Located in /examples/. See what works vs what doesn't.

• bad-claude-md.md - Side-by-side comparisons of bad vs good CLAUDE.md patterns

🔧 Troubleshooting (When Stuck)

lessons/11-troubleshooting.md - Common issues and fixes.

Reference this when something goes wrong.

The Core Principle

Every lesson teaches variations of one core idea:

Invest upfront in context (CLAUDE.md, memory, skills) → Claude performs better → Never repeat yourself → Productivity compounds over time

The best Claude Code users spend time setting up their environment once, then benefit from it in every session forever.

Time Expectations

Minimum viable mastery: 1-2 hours

• Lessons 00, 01, 03
• Read the cheat sheet
• Practice on one real project

Comfortable proficiency: 3-4 hours

• Lessons 00-04, 08-09
• Review examples
• Set up CLAUDE.md for your main project

Expert level: 8-10 hours

• All lessons (00-11)
• Implement hooks and skills
• Set up MCP servers
• Practice advanced patterns

Ongoing: 5-10 minutes per week refining CLAUDE.md based on what you learn

Study Tips

Do the exercises. Reading without practicing won't make you proficient.

Apply immediately. After each lesson, use it on real work. Theory → Practice → Mastery.

Iterate on CLAUDE.md. Your first CLAUDE.md will be basic. That's fine. Improve it every week.

Ask Claude for help. "Explain how plan mode works" or "Help me write a better CLAUDE.md for this project"

Don't rush. Better to master lessons 1-4 than to skim all 11.

What Success Looks Like

After completing this curriculum, you should:

✅ Have a comprehensive CLAUDE.md for your main project ✅ Use plan mode automatically for non-trivial tasks ✅ Batch requests for efficiency ✅ Maintain useful project memory ✅ Have at least 2-3 custom skills ✅ Understand when to use MCP servers ✅ Know how to recover when Claude makes mistakes ✅ Be 3-5x more productive than when you started

Questions?

• Built-in help: Type /help in Claude Code
• Troubleshooting: Check Lesson 11
• GitHub Issues: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues

Ready to Start?

Complete beginners: Go to Lesson 00: Quick Start

Everyone else: Pick your path above and dive in.

The best time to start was when you first installed Claude Code. The second-best time is now.

Good luck! 🚀