Claude Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Coding with AI
Source: Dev.to
Introduction
The other day I told my boss I was going to get another Google Certification in AI: the Generative AI Leader course from Google Cloud Certification. I thought this would make me sound proactive and forward‑thinking. His response was, “That’s fine, whatever works for you, but make sure you are using the tooling.” He was right, and it stung a little because I’d been studying AI more than I’d been shipping with it.
Takeaways from Coding with Claude Code
A Modern Twist on Pair Programming
Claude Code feels like a highly book‑smart pair programmer. Guiding Claude through the problem‑solving process lets me see the steps it takes, often revealing genuinely creative solutions.
Unlocking Project Gates
Claude Code acts as a key that opens gates that would normally halt a project—things like PyPI packaging, CI pipelines, schema migrations, authentication architecture, or deployment configuration. These non‑code hurdles can kill momentum, but Claude helps knock them down so I can keep moving forward.
Common Project Gates
Most projects die at gates such as:
- Packaging a Django app for PyPI
- Setting up CI/CD pipelines
- Managing schema migrations
- Designing authentication architecture
- Configuring deployment scripts
Claude Code helps you bypass these obstacles without getting bogged down.
Recent Public Releases
django‑schematic
I’d wanted an interactive schema visualizer for years, but the frontend D3 work and packaging a Django project were blocking. Claude Code helped break through those barriers.
gh‑to‑slack
I built scripts to summarize my work and post it to Slack with state emojis. Claude Code helped create the Homebrew formula needed to distribute the scripts to macOS coworkers.
homebrew‑tap
I’d always wanted a Homebrew tap for my tools but never got around to it. Claude Code quickly generated the necessary files and instructions.
quiz‑app
A study app I built for the Professional Cloud Developer certification (using gemini-cli). This project marked the start of my Claude Code journey.
Getting Started with Claude Code
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash- Sign up for a Pro or Max plan.
- Work through the Anthropic Academy tutorials.
- A good beginner video is How to Set Up Claude Code in 2026 (Beginner Tutorial).
Ongoing Reading
I maintain a running list of relevant Reddit threads under Claude Daily Reading.
Miscellaneous Projects
- claude mcp server – a GitHub issues/PRs related feature built with Claude Code.
- gh‑related – Claude Code command and skill to show related issues and PRs.
- fatbrainmap – a visual mind map linking the output of previous commands.