From Chatbot to Development Partner

This is Part 6 of a series on plan-based development with Claude Code. Today we explore how Claude Code becomes an integrated development partner.

Claude Code isn’t a chatbot you occasionally ask questions. It’s an integrated development partner that understands your codebase, follows your patterns, and executes multi-step tasks.

The difference is profound:

Chat: “How do I add a new route in Express?”
Claude Code: “Add a new protected route for user preferences following our existing patterns in @bts/api”

Custom Commands: Codified Workflows

We created custom commands that encode our team’s workflows:

.claude/
├── commands/
│   ├── research.md   # /research - Research & planning
│   ├── understand.md # /understand - Code comprehension
│   ├── find.md       # /find - Code discovery
│   ├── test.md       # /test - Testing workflow
│   ├── review.md     # /review - PR-style code review
│   └── write.md      # /write - Code generation

The `/research` Command

When planning a new feature:

/research add real-time notifications to the dashboard

This triggers a structured research process:

Searches for existing notification patterns
Reviews the current architecture
Identifies affected packages
Produces a structured implementation plan

The `/review` Command

Before committing:

/review staged

This performs a comprehensive code review:

Checks for bugs and security issues
Validates TypeScript patterns
Ensures consistency with repo conventions
Suggests improvements

Skills: Context-Aware Assistance

Unlike commands that you invoke explicitly, skills activate automatically based on context:

## When to Activate
- Questions about TypeScript errors
- Code with type assertions or `any`
- Discussions of validation or schemas

## Guidance
- Prefer Zod schemas over manual type guards
- Use branded types for IDs
- Validate at system boundaries

When Claude sees code with as any, it automatically applies the type-safety skill’s guidance.

The Plan Mode Workflow

For complex features, we use Claude Code’s plan mode:

Enter plan mode: Triggered for multi-step implementations
Explore codebase: Claude reads relevant files, understands patterns
Write plan: Creates detailed implementation steps
Review: Human reviews and approves the plan
Execute: Claude implements following the approved plan

This mirrors our manual plan-based development but with AI assistance at every step.

Real Examples from Our Workflow

Example 1: Fixing a Build Issue

> bun run dev shows "Cannot find module '@bts/effect/services'"

Claude analyzes:
- Checks turbo.json for task dependencies
- Identifies race condition: dev starts before build completes
- Proposes fix: Add "^build" to dev task dependencies
- Implements the fix
- Verifies with test run

Example 2: Adding a New Package

> Create a new @bts/highlighter-router package following existing patterns

Claude:
- Uses `turbo gen package` generator
- Creates turbo.json with correct tags
- Sets up tsconfig.json extending base
- Adds to workspace catalog
- Creates initial exports
- Updates @bts/router to include new router

The Amplification Effect

Claude Code doesn’t replace developer judgment—it amplifies it.

Without Claude: Manually search 60 packages, copy patterns, adapt to context
With Claude: Describe intent, review proposed solution, approve and refine

The cognitive load shifts from “how do I do this?” to “is this the right approach?”

Next up in Part 7: Putting it all together - the virtuous cycle and lessons learned from six months of this workflow.

From Chatbot to Development Partner