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6 weeks of Claude Code

blog.puzzmo.com

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Re: 6 weeks of Claude Code

#171

Post by everforward »

lukaslalinsky wrote: post #64
MarkMarine wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Claude code is great until it isn’t. You’re going to get to a point where you need to modify something or add something… a small feature that would have been easy if you wrote everything, and now it’s impossible because the architecture is just a mishmash of vibe coded stuff you don’t understand.

How can you end up with code you don't understand, if you review anything it writes? I wouldn't let it deviate from the architecture I want to have for the project. I had problems with junior devs in the past, too eager to change a project, and I couldn't really tell them to stop (need to work on my communication skills). No such problem with Claude Code.

I've only used the agentic tools a bit, but I've found that they're able to generate code at a velocity that I struggle to keep in my head. The development loop also doesn't require me to interact with the code as much, so I have worse retention of things like which functions are in which file, what helper functions already exist, etc.

It's less that I can't understand, and more that my context on the code is very weak.

Re: 6 weeks of Claude Code

#172

Post by knowsuchagency »

skydhash wrote: post #131
arrowsmith wrote: post #101

The real power of Claude Code comes when you realise it can do far more than just write code. It can, in fact, control your entire computer. If there's a CLI tool, Claude can run it. If there's not a CLI tool... ask Claude anyway, you might be surprised. E.g. I've used Claude to crop and resize images, rip MP3s from YouTube videos, trim silence from audio files, the list goes on. It saves me incredible amounts of tim…

> If there's a CLI tool, Claude can run it. If there's not a CLI tool... ask Claude anyway, you might be surprised. No Claude Code needed for that! Just hang around r/unixporn and you'll collect enough scripts and tips to realize that mainstream OS have pushed computers from a useful tool to a consumerism toy.

That's like saying "you don't need a car, just hang around this bicycle shop long enough and you'll realize you can exercise your way around the town!"

Re: 6 weeks of Claude Code

#173

Post by jstummbillig »

skydhash wrote: post #131
arrowsmith wrote: post #101

The real power of Claude Code comes when you realise it can do far more than just write code. It can, in fact, control your entire computer. If there's a CLI tool, Claude can run it. If there's not a CLI tool... ask Claude anyway, you might be surprised. E.g. I've used Claude to crop and resize images, rip MP3s from YouTube videos, trim silence from audio files, the list goes on. It saves me incredible amounts of tim…

> If there's a CLI tool, Claude can run it. If there's not a CLI tool... ask Claude anyway, you might be surprised. No Claude Code needed for that! Just hang around r/unixporn and you'll collect enough scripts and tips to realize that mainstream OS have pushed computers from a useful tool to a consumerism toy.

The point is not that a tool maybe exists. The point is: You don't have to care if the tool exists and you don't have to collect anything. Just ask Claude code and it does what you want.

At least that's how I read the comment.

Re: 6 weeks of Claude Code

#174

Post by blackqueeriroh »

risyachka wrote: post #135
justlikereddit wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been exploring vibe coding lately and by far the biggest benefit is the lack of mental strain. You don't have to try to remember your code as a conceptual whole, what your technical implementation of the next hour of code was going to be like at the same time as a stubborn bug is taunting you. You just ask Mr smartybots and it deliver anything between proofreading and documentation and whatnot, with some minor f…

"mental strain" in a way of remembering/thinking hard is like muscle strain. You need it to be in shape otherwise it starts atrophying.

My friend, there’s no solid evidence that this is the case. So far, there are a bunch of studies, mostly preprints, that make vague implications, but none that can show clear causal links between a lack of mental strain and atrophying brain function from LLMs.

Re: 6 weeks of Claude Code

#175

Post by fuzzzerd »

Aurornis wrote: post #91
asdev wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like Cursor gives the same experience without having to be in the terminal. I don't see how Claude Code is so much better

I haven’t found massive performance between tools that use the same underlying LLM The benefit of Claude Code is that you can pay a fixed monthly fee and get a lot more than you would with API requests alone.

That has not been my experience, Copilot using Claude is way different than claude code for me. Anecdotal, and "vibes" based, but it'd what I've been experiencing.

Re: 6 weeks of Claude Code

#176

Post by wredcoll »

rane wrote: post #123
risyachka wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Review the code that comes out. It goes a long way. Sure, but if I do 5 reviews for a task - in 99% of cases it is net negative as it is faster to DIY it at that point. Harder for sure, but faster.

Maybe our brains are wired different but reading and reviewing code is way faster for me than writing it.

There's very few objective ways to measure review 'performance'.

Coding is easy, it works or doesn't.

Re: 6 weeks of Claude Code

#177

Post by skerit »

cpursley wrote: post #140
indigodaddy wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe instead try opencode or crush with Gemini/Google auth when your Claude Code hits the limit.

Gemini is shockingly, embarrassingly, shamefully bad (for something out of a company like Google). Even the open models like Qwen and Kimi are better on opencode.

In my experience, Gemini is pretty good in multishotting. So just give it a system prompt, some example user/assistant pairs, and it can produce great results!

And this is its biggest weakness for coding. As soon as it makes a single mistake, it's over. It somehow has learned that during this "conversation" it's having, it should make that mistake over and over again. And then it starts saying things like "Wow, I'm really messing up the diff format!"

Re: 6 weeks of Claude Code

#178

Post by danielbln »

einpoklum wrote: post #150
danielbln wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the automators dream come true. Anything can be automated, anything scripted, anything documented. Even if we're gonna use other (possibly local) models in the future, this will be my interface of choice. It's so powerful.

It's not a dream come true to have a bunch of GPUs crunching at full power to achieve your minor automation, with the company making them available losing massive amounts of money on it: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-gui/ ... while also exposing the contents of your computer to surveillence.

Well, yes there is that.

I'd like to say I'm praising the paradigm shift more than anything else (and this is to some degree achievable with smaller, open and sometimes local agentic models), but yes, there are definitely nasty externalities (though burning VC cash is not high up that list for me). I hope some externalities can be be optimized away.

But a fair comment.

Re: 6 weeks of Claude Code

#179

Post by Freedom2 »

shortrounddev2 wrote: post #158
Freedom2 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't help that a lot of skeptics are also dishonest. A few days ago someone here tried to claim that inserting verbose debug logging, something Claude Code would be very good at, is "actually programming" and it's important work for humans to do. No, Claude can create logs all across my codebase with much better formatting far faster than I can, so I can focus on actual problem solving. It's frustrating, but pa…

That's not what dishonesty means. That's just someone who disagrees with you

Thank you for calling out my inaccuracy. One thing I'm always appreciative for in HN is the level of pedantry day after day.

Re: 6 weeks of Claude Code

#180

Post by danielbln »

aledalgrande wrote: post #146
buffer1337 wrote: post #84

I've been using Claude code 12-16 hours a day since I first got it running two weeks ago. Here's the tips I've discovered: 1. Immediately change to sonnet (the cli defaults to opus for max users). I tested coding with opus extensively and it never matches the quality of sonnet. 2. Compacting often ends progress - it's difficult to get back to the same quality of code after compacting. 3. First prompt is very importan…

5. it's not just docker, give it playwright MCP server so it can see what it is implementing in UI and requests 6. start in plan mode and iterate on the plan until you're happy 7. use slash commands, they are mini prompts you can keep refining over time, including providing starting context and reminding it that it can use tools like gh to interact with Github not sure I agree on 1. 2. compact when you are at a good…

Use agents to validate the code. Is it over engineered, does it conform to conventions and spec, is it actually implemented or half bullshit. I run three of these at the end of a feature or task and it almost always send Opus back to the workbench fixing a bunch of stuff. And since they have their own context, you don't blow up the main context and can go for longer.
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