The Explore-Plan-Code Workflow

Software Development with Claude Code

Dani Zysman

AI Curriculum Manager @ DataCamp

The "Dive In" Problem

Iceberg: prompt above waterline, hidden complexity below

The Workflow

Flowchart: Init → Explore → Plan → Code

API Project Overview

music-analytics-api/
  app.py           # Application entry point
  routes.py        # API endpoints
  models.py        # Artist/Album models
  analytics.py     # Statistics functions
  middleware.py    # Request logging
  config.py        # Session settings

A simple Music Analytics API with existing patterns we need to respect.

CLAUDE.md: Project Memory

CLAUDE.md:

Gives Claude persistent context about your project
Claude reads it automatically every session
No need to re-explain your setup each time

Start with /init

> /init

Music Analytics API
A Flask-based REST API for music data analytics.

Project Structure
- app.py       Flask application entry point
- routes.py    API endpoint definitions
- analytics.py Statistical analysis functions

Coding Conventions
- Use type hints for function parameters
- Include docstrings for all public functions
- Follow PEP 8 style guidelines

Plan Mode

Toggle with Shift+Tab or type /plan
Once a plan is generated, press Ctrl+G to visualize, approve, review, or edit it

Skipping Planning

> Add a /api/login endpoint that creates a session for a user

from flask import jsonify, request
from flask_login import LoginManager, login_user
from app import app

login_manager = LoginManager(app)
@app.route('/api/login', methods=['POST'])
def login():
    """Handle user login and create session."""
    data = request.get_json()
    user = User.query.filter_by(username=data['username']).first()
    if user and user.password == data['password']:
        login_user(user)
        return jsonify({'status': 'success'})
    return jsonify({'error': 'Invalid credentials'}), 401

Plan First, Then Code

> /plan Add a /api/login endpoint that creates a session for a user

Plan: Add POST /api/login endpoint

Context
The music analytics API has session infrastructure in place
(flask_session, SECRET_KEY, session already imported in routes)
but no authentication.

Files to Modify
- models.py:  add User class, UserStore class, user_store singleton
- routes.py:  expand import, add login route

No changes needed to app.py, config.py, middleware.py, or analytics.py.

Extended Thinking

> think about how to add authentication to this API

Levels of Thinking

Command	Reasoning Depth
`think`	Basic reasoning
`think more`	Extended reasoning
`think a lot`	Comprehensive reasoning
`think longer`	Extended time reasoning
`ultrathink`	Maximum reasoning

Managing Context Window and Tokens

excalidraw: Context window filling with prompts and responses, showing token breakdown

"Context window exceeded" → session is too long, use /clear
Claude prioritizes recent conversation when context gets full

The Complete Workflow

Flowchart: /init → Explore → Plan → Review → Code → Test

Let's Practice!

Software Development with Claude Code