Claude Boilerplate

A comprehensive boilerplate repository establishing best practices and conventions for team development with Claude AI assistance.

📋 Overview

This repository serves as a foundation for projects that leverage Claude AI for development assistance while maintaining consistent code quality and team collaboration standards.

Key Features

• Structured AI Context: Pre-configured CLAUDE.md for optimal AI assistance
• Development Guidelines: Clear conventions for code quality and architecture
• Team Workflows: Standardized processes for collaboration
• Testing Standards: Comprehensive testing requirements and patterns
• Git Conventions: Consistent commit messages and branching strategies

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Git
• Your preferred code editor
• Project-specific runtime (Node.js, Ruby, Python, etc.)

Initial Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/your-org/claude-boilerplate.git
   cd claude-boilerplate

2. Copy to your project

   cp -r claude-boilerplate/* your-project/
   cd your-project

3. Customize for your project

   • Update CLAUDE.md with project-specific instructions
   • Modify .github/ templates for your workflow
   • Adjust CONTRIBUTING.md for your team's processes

📁 Repository Structure

claude-boilerplate/
├── .claude/                # Claude AI configuration (local)
├── .github/               # GitHub templates and workflows
│   ├── ISSUE_TEMPLATE/
│   └── pull_request_template.md
├── docs/                  # Documentation
│   ├── architecture/     # Architecture decisions
│   ├── workflows/        # Development workflows
│   └── guidelines/       # Coding guidelines
├── scripts/              # Utility scripts
│   ├── setup.sh         # Initial setup script
│   └── validate.sh      # Validation script
├── CLAUDE.md            # AI assistant instructions
├── CONTRIBUTING.md      # Contribution guidelines
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md   # Code of conduct
└── README.md           # This file

🤝 Working with Claude

Best Practices

1. Clear Instructions: Always provide context in CLAUDE.md
2. Incremental Development: Break work into small, testable chunks
3. Test-First Approach: Write tests before implementation
4. Code Review: Review AI-generated code before committing

Claude Configuration

The CLAUDE.md file contains:

• Project-specific conventions
• Technology stack details
• Testing requirements
• Architecture patterns
• Common commands

📝 Development Guidelines

Core Principles

1. Simplicity First: Choose boring, obvious solutions
2. Incremental Progress: Small, working commits
3. Test Coverage: All new code must have tests
4. Clear Communication: Descriptive commits and documentation

Workflow

1. Create feature branch from main
2. Implement with tests
3. Ensure all checks pass
4. Create pull request
5. Code review and merge

🧪 Testing Standards

Requirements

• All new features must have tests
• Tests must pass before merging
• Coverage should not decrease
• Tests should be deterministic

Running Tests

# Project-specific test command
# Examples:
npm test           # JavaScript/TypeScript
bundle exec rspec  # Ruby
pytest            # Python
go test ./...     # Go

🔧 Git Conventions

Commit Messages

Format: type(scope): description

Types:

• feat: New feature
• fix: Bug fix
• docs: Documentation
• style: Formatting
• refactor: Code restructuring
• test: Testing
• chore: Maintenance

Branch Naming

• Feature: feature/description
• Bugfix: fix/description
• Hotfix: hotfix/description

📚 Documentation

Required Documentation

• Architecture decisions in docs/architecture/
• API documentation
• Setup instructions
• Deployment guides

🛡️ Security

• Never commit secrets or credentials
• Use environment variables for configuration
• Follow OWASP guidelines
• Regular dependency updates

📊 Quality Gates

Before merging:

• All tests passing
• Code review approved
• No linting errors
• Documentation updated
• Commit messages follow convention

🤝 Contributing

Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed contribution guidelines.

📄 License

[Your License Here]

💬 Support

• Create an issue for bugs
• Use discussions for questions
• Check documentation first

🔗 Resources

• Team Wiki
• Style Guide
• Architecture Docs
• Claude AI Best Practices

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This boilerplate is actively maintained by [Your Team Name]