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Domain 3 · 20% of the exam

Claude Code Configuration & Workflows

Configure Claude Code for development workflows — CLAUDE.md hierarchy, slash commands and skills, path-specific rules, plan mode, iterative refinement, and CI/CD integration.

  1. 3.1 CLAUDE.md Hierarchy & Scoping

    Place each instruction at the right level — user, project, or directory — so shared conventions reach the whole team, and keep large files modular with `@import` and `.claude/rules/`.

  2. 3.2 Slash Commands & Skills

    Commit team commands to `.claude/commands/` (or skills to `.claude/skills/`), and use `SKILL.md` frontmatter — `context: fork`, `allowed-tools`, `argument-hint` — to isolate verbose output, restrict tools, and prompt for arguments.

  3. 3.3 Path-Specific Rules

    Use `.claude/rules/` files with YAML `paths` glob frontmatter so a convention loads only when editing matching files — the right tool when a convention follows a file *type* scattered across directories rather than one directory.

  4. 3.4 Plan Mode vs Direct Execution

    Use plan mode for architectural, multi-file, or multiple-valid-approach work — investigate and design before committing — and direct execution for a single clear change; judge complexity from the requirements, not by waiting to see.

  5. 3.5 Iterative Refinement Techniques

    When prose is interpreted inconsistently, show concrete input/output examples; iterate on test failures; interview first in unfamiliar domains; and batch interacting fixes into one message while handling independent ones sequentially.

  6. 3.6 CI/CD Integration

    Run Claude Code headless with `-p` (a bare `claude "..."` hangs), emit machine-parseable results with `--output-format json` + `--json-schema`, and review with an independent instance that carries prior findings to avoid duplicate comments.