How Claude Code Works

All plans1 min read

Step 1: Explore

Reads files, searches patterns, and builds a mental model of your project structure and dependencies

Step 2: Plan

Designs an implementation strategy, identifies files to change, and considers edge cases

Step 3: Code

Edits existing files, creates new ones, updates imports, and runs commands across your project

Step 4: Verify

Runs tests, checks for build errors, and validates the result. Loops back if anything fails

0x

More deployments (Vercel)

0%

Faster investigations (Ramp)

0x

Revenue growth (Vercel)

What do these enterprise numbers mean?

These statistics come from public statements by Vercel and Ramp about their real production usage of Claude Code. Vercel, the company behind Next.js, reported that their team deployed 7.6 times more frequently after adopting Claude Code. Ramp, a corporate card and expense management company, reported that error investigations took 80% less time. These are production metrics from engineering teams, not synthetic benchmarks.
ToolWhat it does
ReadReadRead any file in your project: code, config, docs, even images
EditEditMake precise string replacements in existing files
WriteWriteCreate entirely new files when needed
BashBashRun shell commands: build, test, git, npm, docker, anything
GlobGlobFind files by name pattern (e.g., **/*.tsx)
GrepGrepSearch file contents with regular expressions
TaskTaskDelegate work to subagents that run in parallel

How to get the best results

Claude Code works best when it has context. Start by running /init to generate a CLAUDE.md that describes your project. Be specific in your requests: "Add a dark mode toggle to the settings page that persists to localStorage" gives much better results than "add dark mode." For complex tasks, use Plan Mode (Shift+Tab) to review the approach before Claude Code writes any code.