Claude

The full story of building ivanmisic.net from scratch. No frameworks, no templates. Just PHP, vanilla JS, a custom CSS design system, and Claude Code.

As projects grow, the way you use Claude Code needs to evolve. Start fresh sessions often, be specific about files, and break big tasks into small steps.

Something broke. Don't panic. Describe the problem, show Claude a screenshot, and let it investigate. Most bugs get fixed in two or three rounds.

Claude Code is powerful, which is exactly why you should verify the important stuff. Review changes, protect sensitive files, save snapshots, and start fresh sessions.

Andrej Karpathy called it "fully giving in to the vibes." Collins Dictionary made it Word of the Year. What vibe coding actually means, when it works, and how everything you've learned so far has been building toward it.

A messy project folder slows you down and confuses Claude. Organized projects get better results because clear structure means clear communication.

CLAUDE.md gives Claude the overview, but rule files handle the details. They're focused documents in .claude/rules/ that Claude reads automatically based on what it's working on.

Some prompts you'll type over and over. Custom commands let you save them as reusable recipes. Type a short name instead of pasting a paragraph every time.

Every time you start Claude Code, it forgets who you are. CLAUDE.md is a text file that gives it permanent memory. One file, read automatically at the start of every session.

Claude Code will misunderstand you. It will edit the wrong file. It will occasionally do the opposite of what you asked. Normal. You just need to know how to recover.

Set up your screen so you can see Claude Code and your project at the same time. This one change makes the whole experience feel different. Terminal on one side, results on the other.

Claude Code can split itself into multiple copies and work on several things at the same time. You don't need to manage this. Just describe what you want and Claude figures out the rest.

The quality of what Claude Code builds depends entirely on the quality of your instructions. Vague instructions get vague results. Specific instructions get exactly what you want.

When you start Claude Code from a folder, that folder becomes its world. Everything inside it is visible, everything outside doesn't exist. This is the most important thing to understand.

You're about to have a conversation with an AI that can actually touch your files. Create a practice folder, start Claude Code, and try three starter prompts that show the entire workflow.

You're going to paste one command, wait a minute, and Claude Code will be ready. No runtimes to install, no PATH to configure, no settings to edit.

The terminal is the most intimidating thing that isn't actually intimidating. It's just a text window where you type something, press Enter, and your computer responds.

You want to build something but you're not a programmer. Claude Code is an AI that lives on your computer, making real changes. Talk to it in plain English.