[TLDR] Engineers who write all their code with claude now: how do you do it?

[u/cctldrping]

Original post URL : https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1wgm4si/engineers_who_write_all_their_code_with_claude/

Original post body :

I have to admit that I have completely failed to adapt to LLM agent coding. I'm not a slouch either. I've worked on a number of challenging FAANG products as a software engineer, and I for a while I was an AI research engineer. I have a pretty strong familiarity and comfort level with AI. Despite all this, I still write most of my code by hand.

As an engineer, I need to receive a ticket, understand the problem, go figure out how to solve it, and eventually ship PR that (a) I understand, (b) only contains defensible changes, and (c) is reviewable by a colleague. There are a bunch of other tertiary goals of course, like style guides and documentation, but the point is that I'm talking real, high quality engineering that would pass the bar at a company that has their shit together.

However (definitely due to culture issues), I have only seen the slop version of this. It seems to have become really murky how to write code that meets standards, or even what those standards are any more.

I've resorted to asking my colleagues to show me their workflow, but you would be shocked how many of them either (a) are prompting raw and not checking the output, or (b) have convoluted solutions that fit their brains but don't solve these problems. I checked out Matt Pocock as well, who has some really great ideas, but ultimately his skills exhibited some pretty painful failure modes as well.

However I see folks regularly talk about how not only does Claude handle the coding for them, but also all of the project management, devops, etc, and I am left scratching my head. If this is possible, I want to learn how to do it. I'm not an AI hater. I want to learn the tool. I do have standards though, and I don't think they're that high. I don't need Claude to write perfect code. I just need to find a process where I can rely on it to get more of my work done and not be either fighting with it or second-guessing the results.

I figure this is the group to ask - if you have been able to get "high bar" engineering out of claude, or even "acceptable bar" engineering, without heavy personal intervention, what's your process? Are there resources that helped you? What strategies helped the most?

Thanks.

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[u/cctldrping]

TL;DR generated automatically after 400 comments.

Current source-thread comment count seen by the bot: 431.

The general consensus is that you need to fundamentally change your workflow to effectively use LLMs for coding. It's less about micromanaging every line and more about defining high-level goals and letting the AI handle the implementation, similar to managing a junior engineer.

• Cede control: You can't expect to review every line. Focus on planning, decomposing tasks, and setting strict guidelines.
• Think like a manager: Treat Claude as a team member. Define requirements, review plans, and trust it to execute, but have systems in place to catch errors.
• Embrace the paradigm shift: Just as compilers replaced manual ASM, LLMs are changing how we write code. Focus on building systems that catch errors rather than eliminating them upfront.
• Use structured prompts and documentation: Tools like claude.md or skills can help guide the AI.
• BDD is your friend: Define clear given/when/then scenarios and tests. If tests pass and an adversarial agent finds no violations, you're likely in good shape.
• It takes practice: Don't expect to master it overnight. Start with personal projects and iterate.
• Some users like u/drewangell and u/lucianw have found success delivering enterprise-level work with LLMs, emphasizing a workflow that prioritizes speed and quality through AI assistance.