If You Installed Claude Code and Only Chat With It — You’re Missing the Point

Source: Dev.to

You installed Claude Code, typed claude, and a chat opened. If you only use it to fix bugs or write tests, you’re tapping into roughly 20 % of its potential. The real power lies in three configuration files—CLAUDE.md, Hooks settings, and MCP server connections. Setting these up transforms the experience.

Claude Code forgets everything when a session ends, so preferences like “always use the -v flag with pytest” disappear. A CLAUDE.md file in your project root preserves such rules automatically when a session starts.

Project Guide

Dev Rules

• Always run tests with pytest tests/ -v
• Create backups before any DB operations
• Commit messages use feat/, fix/, docs/ prefixes

Tech Stack

• Backend: Python 3.11, FastAPI, PostgreSQL
• Frontend: Next.js 14 App Router

Hooks

Hooks let you run shell commands at specific lifecycle points.

Post‑tool‑use Hook (auto‑format TypeScript files)

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Edit|Write",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "jq -r '.tool_input.file_path' | { read f; if echo \"$f\" | grep -qE '\\.(ts|tsx)$'; then npx prettier --write \"$f\" 2>/dev/null; fi; }"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Pre‑tool‑use Hook (block edits to .env files)

{
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Edit|Write",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "python3 -c \"import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); p=d.get('tool_input',{}).get('file_path',''); sys.exit(2 if '.env' in p else 0)\""
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

MCP Integrations

Use claude mcp add to connect external services.

• -s user → global tools
• -s project → project‑specific tools

GitHub

claude mcp add github -s user \
  -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=your-token \
  -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

Context7

claude mcp add context7 -s user -- npx -y @upstash/context7-mcp@latest

Playwright

claude mcp add playwright -s project -- npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest

PostgreSQL

claude mcp add postgres -s project \
  -e DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb" \
  -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres

• CLAUDE.md teaches persistent rules.
• Hooks enforce quality checks and formatting.
• MCP extends Claude Code’s capabilities.

A half‑hour setup pays off every day—Claude Code’s true strength isn’t just in conversation, but in the configuration that powers it.