The earlier articles covered pieces of the workflow. This one ties them together: taking one issue from a blank branch to a pull request, with Claude helping at each stage.
Start on a branch
Never work on main. Cut a branch named for the work so a commit message can later infer the ticket from it.
git checkout -b AX-142-user-export
claude
Plan before you build
For anything unfamiliar, use plan mode. Cycle to it with Shift+Tab and let Claude explore the code and propose an approach before it changes a line. You approve the plan, then it implements. This Explore, Plan, Implement, Verify loop keeps surprises small.
Implement in small commits
Ask Claude to build the change in verifiable steps, running your tests as its check after each one.
> Implement the export endpoint. Run the test suite after each change and commit when it passes.
Giving Claude a check to run means it catches its own mistakes instead of handing them to you.
Review before you open
Once the branch is green, run a review pass on your own work first.
> /review
Fix what it surfaces, and run /security-review too if the change touches auth or user input.
Open the pull request
With the branch clean and reviewed, have Claude draft the pull request title and body from the commits, then open it.
git push -u origin AX-142-user-export
claude "Draft a PR title and description from the commits on this branch."
Keep the merge yours
Claude took the change from empty branch to open pull request. The last step stays with you: a human reads the diff and clicks merge. Fast where it helps, careful where it counts.
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