Get the free Clean Setup Kit (7 fixes + copy-paste templates)
The same 7 mistakes showed up across 100 real Claude Code setups like a disease pattern — and every one is a one-time, ten-minute fix. THE AUDIT AT A GLANCE: 52/100 running on untouched /init boilerplate, 16/100 bloated past the official 200-line CLAUDE.md guidance (biggest: 1,006 lines), 11/100 basically empty, 42/100 with zero build/test commands so Claude can't verify anything, 2/100 with any permissions file, and 0/100 with a deny list protecting secrets and prod. THE 7 MISTAKES with symptom, damage, and doc-verified fix: the Amnesia Setup (run /init, then actually edit it — commands, style, architecture, and the official 'would removing this cause a mistake?' test), the Novel (under 200 lines, @imports, path-scoped .claude/rules/), the Chatbot Habit (plan mode via Shift+Tab or /plan, Explore→Plan→Implement→Commit, and the one-sentence rule — Claude Code's own creator starts most sessions in plan mode), the Yes-Machine (allow/ask/deny lists — including the Dec-2025 wiped-Mac horror story that makes the case), the Hoarder (the 82k-token/41% context measurement, why 2026's tool search changed the math, and the start-from-zero rule), the Eternal Session (/clear frequently, /compact with instructions, /context — and why auto-compact makes Claude 'feel dumber'), and Shipping Blind (give Claude a check it can run, Esc-Esc /rewind checkpoints, small commits). PLUS: a copy-paste CLAUDE.md skeleton built on the official rules, a starter .claude/settings.json with the 3 deny rules pre-written (the zero-fixer), the 5 pieces of famous-but-now-WRONG tutorial advice to unlearn (think-hard tiers, the # memory shortcut, commands vs skills, MCP token bloat, Ctrl+R), and the 45-minute clean-setup checklist. One hour of setup puts you ahead of 98 of the 100 setups we audited.
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