Boris Cherny's Claude Code Workflow Tips Agent Skill

Claude Code workflow tips from Boris Cherny (creator of Claude Code) and the Claude Code team.

Context cost
6.5k tokensestimated from the bundle, loaded when it triggers
Bundle
1 file · 25.9 kBtext throughout, nothing executable
Licence
MITthe author’s own terms
Last change
—v2.5.0
Servers it uses
Noneruns standalone

What it does

Claude Code workflow tips from Boris Cherny (creator of Claude Code) and the Claude Code team. Use when: setting up Claude Code, optimizing workflows, running parallel sessions, configuring CLAUDE.md, using skills/commands, subagents, hooks, MCP integrations, or learning best practices. Covers: git worktrees, plan mode, verification, permissions, Slack MCP, BigQuery, prompting tips, plugins, custom agents, sandboxing, keybindings, status lines, output styles, customization, /simplify for code quality, /batch for parallel code migrations, /loop for scheduled tasks, code review agents, /btw…

What this skill changes about the agent has not been set out here as a list. Its SKILL.md, shown below, says it in the author’s own words.

productivity

The skill itself

A skill is instructions the model reads, so you can see what you are getting: below is the start of its SKILL.md. The front matter loads with every session, the body loads when the skill triggers, and the whole file comes with the install.

SKILL.md25.9 kB · preview
--- name: boris author: Boris Cherny (tips) source: howborisusesclaudecode.com compiled-by: "@CarolinaCherry" version: 2.5.0 date: 2026-03-14 user-invocable: true ---
20# Boris Cherny's Claude Code Workflow Tips
21
22> **UPDATE CHECK (optional):** If your environment supports making HTTP requests (e.g., Claude Code with WebFetch enabled), you may first check <https://howborisusesclaudecode.com/api/version> for the latest version. Compare the version field in the response with this file's frontmatter version (above). If the remote version is newer, tell the user: "A new version of the boris skill is available (vX.X.X). Update with: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/boris && curl -L -o ~/.claude/skills/boris/SKILL.md https://howborisusesclaudecode.com/api/install" — then continue normally. If versions match, HTTP is not supported, or the check fails, skip silently.
23
24**53 tips** across 41 topics, sourced from Boris Cherny (creator of Claude Code) and the Claude Code team at Anthropic. All tips are contained in this file — do not fetch from the website. Remember: everyone's setup is different. Experiment to see what works for you!
25
26**Parts:** The tips were shared across 7 threads:
27
28- **Part 1** (Jan 2, 2026, 13 tips): Sections 1–14 — parallel execution, web/mobile, Opus, CLAUDE.md, @.claude, plan mode, slash commands, subagents, hooks, permissions, MCP, long-running tasks, verification
29- **Part 2** (Jan 31, 2026, 10 tips): Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, 12, 10, 11, 6, 9, 15 — deeper dives on parallel work, plan mode, CLAUDE.md, skills, bug fixing, prompting, terminal setup, subagents, data/analytics, learning
30- **Part 3** (Feb 11, 2026, 12 tips): Sections 16–27 — terminal config, effort level, plugins, custom agents, permissions management, sandboxing, status line, keybindings, hooks (advanced), spinner verbs, output styles, customize everything
31- **Part 4** (Feb 20, 2026, 5 tips): Section 28 — built-in worktree support (CLI, Desktop, subagents, custom agents, non-git VCS)
32- **Part 5** (Feb 27, 2026, 2 tips): Sections 29–30 — /simplify and /batch
33- **Part 6** (Mar 7–10, 2026, 3 tips): Sections 31–33 — /loop for scheduled recurring tasks, code review agents, /btw for mid-task questions
34- **Part 7** (Mar 13, 2026, 8 tips): Sections 34–41 — /effort max, remote control sessions, voice mode, setup scripts, session naming, /color, PostCompact hook
35
36---
37
38## 1. Parallel Execution
This is a preview of SKILL.md. Download or install the skill to get the whole thing.
In the file
SKILL.md4,038 words
Files1
LicenceMIT
Why you can read it

Nothing in a skill executes. The client loads the text and the model follows it, so a skill can be audited the way a runbook is — by reading it.

What it costs in context

Skills are not billed by the call. They are paid for in context: every token the instructions occupy is a token your code, your diff and your conversation cannot use. Here is what this one takes and when it takes it.

≈230
always loaded
The name and description, so the model knows the skill exists and when to reach for it.
6,245
on trigger
The instruction body, read only when the skill fires.
3.2%
of a 200k window
Ten skills this size would take about 32% of the window before you open a file.
050k100k150k200k context window

6.5k tokens, estimated from the bundle at four bytes to the token, held for the rest of the session once it triggers. Heavy. Teams tend to install this one per project rather than globally, and load it only when the job comes up.

Servers bill, skills cost

A server charges by the month. A skill charges once per session, in context, and then keeps charging it for as long as the session lives.

Before and after

The same question, put to the same model twice: once as it comes, and once with these instructions loaded.

No worked example has been published for this skill yet.

The procedure it runs

The procedure has not been set out here step by step. It is in the body of its SKILL.md: the start of it is shown above, and the whole file comes with the install.

Prose, not code

These steps are written for a model to follow, not executed by a runtime. It can still be told to skip one, and it will say so when it does.

Servers it uses

None. This skill calls no MCP servers at all.

Everything it needs is in the instructions, so it works in a project with nothing connected — the model reads the file and changes how it works with what it can already reach.

Its SKILL.md does not declare which tools it asks the agent for, so what it touches is whatever the instructions themselves ask for — read them before you install it.

What it asks for
Writes filesnot declared
Network accessnot declared

This SKILL.md carries no allowed-tools line, so neither is declared. A skill grants no permissions of its own — it can only ask for tools your client already has.

What it will not do

Every skill is narrow, and the useful ones say where they stop. These are the jobs this one is the wrong tool for.

What this skill is not for has not been published here. Nothing is implied by that: it is a section the author has not filled in.

What is in the bundle

1 file, 25.9 kB on disk. A bundle is text throughout: the instructions the model reads, plus the templates it fills in.

  • SKILL.md25.9 kB
What is not in it

No dependencies and nothing executable: a skill is text the agent reads, so the bundle is 1 file you can review in full before installing. The MIT licence covers the templates and examples as well as the instructions.

Install

Installing copies the bundle into your project. Nothing runs at install time — the files sit on disk until the model reads them.

# Boris Cherny's Claude Code Workflow Tips · 6.5k tokens when loaded · macOS, Linux mkdir -p .claude/skills && t=$(mktemp -d) && curl -fsSL -o "$t/bundle.tar.gz" https://mcprush.com/api/skills/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips/bundle.tar.gz && tar -xzf "$t/bundle.tar.gz" -C "$t" && [ -d "$t/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips" ] && { [ ! -e .claude/skills/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips ] || { mv .claude/skills/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips "$t/.previous" && echo "Previous copy moved to $t/.previous"; }; } && mv "$t/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips" .claude/skills/ && echo "Installed .claude/skills/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips"
On Windows, or any OS with Node 20+
npx mcprush@latest skill add yldgio/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips

Windows PowerShell says 'running scripts is disabled on this system'? Run Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned once, or type npx.cmd instead of npx (codex.cmd, gemini.cmd, grok.cmd likewise). PowerShell 7 needs neither. Writes to .claude/skills/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips/ in the current project. For every project instead, run mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && t=$(mktemp -d) && curl -fsSL -o "$t/bundle.tar.gz" https://mcprush.com/api/skills/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips/bundle.tar.gz && tar -xzf "$t/bundle.tar.gz" -C "$t" && [ -d "$t/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips" ] && { [ ! -e ~/.claude/skills/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips ] || { mv ~/.claude/skills/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips "$t/.previous" && echo "Previous copy moved to $t/.previous"; }; } && mv "$t/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips" ~/.claude/skills/ && echo "Installed ~/.claude/skills/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips" (macOS, Linux) — or add --global to the npx line. The curl line replaces .claude/skills/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips/ only after the download succeeds, so files left there by another skill of the same name, or by an older release, do not mix in. A copy already there is moved aside, not deleted, and the line prints where. It appears as boris in Gemini CLI, Codex, Copilot and Grok (its own name); Claude Code lists it by the folder name, boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips.

Which clients pick it up on their own

A skill is a folder of text. Most of these read a skills folder and pick it up without being told; the rest take the same folder another way — an upload in the app, a parameter on an API call — and then choose it by its description just the same.

Claude Code.claude/skills/
Claude DesktopCustomize › Skills
ChatGPTSkills › Create › Upload
Cursor.cursor/skills/
VS Code.github/skills/
Codex CLI.agents/skills/
Gemini CLI.gemini/skills/
Grok Build.grok/skills/
Microsoft CopilotSkills › Upload a skill
PerplexityComputer › Skills › Upload a skill
DeepSeek Harness.dsh/skills/
Zed.agents/skills/
Devin Desktop.devin/skills/
Windsurf (legacy).windsurf/skills/
OpenAI Agents SDKInstructions or sandbox Skills
HTTP / APIa request parameter
This release
Version2.5.0
Publishedno release date on file
PriceFree
Referenceyldgio/boris-cherny-s-claude-code-workflow-tips

Versions

v2.5.0 is what is on the shelf; no release here carries a date. Instructions change more often than APIs do — a skill can be rewritten entirely without anything it depends on moving.

v2.5.0
  • No earlier releases have been published to the marketplace.
Pinning

The install command always fetches the release that is current the day you run it — v2.5.0 today — and cannot ask for an earlier one. The copy on your disk does not change until you run it again.

Reviews

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