Claude is probably the best-integrated system out there; use the commandline tool because it's able to go research your codebase on its own.
Make it a CLAUDE.md with general architecture. It can make a CLAUDE.md for you with the /init command, but read over it by hand to make sure it's right.
Make sure thinking is enabled (hit "tab"). If you're asking it to do a really hard thing, use the "ultrathink" keyword, which will give it more space to think.
If you have reference tests to use as a model, point it at those. Telling it something like "read existing tests and use the same general style" can help a lot; if you can be more specific, do so.
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Why are you called The Motte?
A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently,
it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey",
originally identified by
philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial
but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens
this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for
the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired
propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."
On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.
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Notes -
I don't know what you've tried, but:
/initcommand, but read over it by hand to make sure it's right.More options
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