Hacker news AI coding experience analysis

I have been using and experimenting with AI coding tools heavily for the last 3 months or so since joining Legion Health as a Founding Engineer. I was somewhat skeptical and approached using AI with suspicion since ChatGPT came out. I use Emacs as my workbench and optimized my workflow around using it as a terminal multiplexer, which naturally fits with Claude Code that I use as my main programming assistant. Below is my simple setup that might benefit other fellow minimalist Emacs users.

(use-package eat :ensure t :config
  (setq eat-term-name "xterm-256color" eat-kill-buffer-on-exit t
        process-adaptive-read-buffering nil eat-term-scrollback-size 500000)
  (define-key eat-semi-char-mode-map [?\s-v] #'eat-yank)
  (define-key eat-semi-char-mode-map [?\C-c ?\C-r] #'k/eat-redisplay))
(defun k/eat-redisplay ()
"Fix eat flicker/flash and display funkiness"
(interactive)
(unless (derived-mode-p 'eat-mode)
  (error "Not in an eat-mode buffer"))
(when (and (boundp 'eat-mode) eat-mode (boundp 'eat-terminal) eat-terminal)
  (let* ((process (eat-term-parameter eat-terminal 'eat--process))
         (window (get-buffer-window (current-buffer))))
    (if (and process (process-live-p process) window)
        (eat--adjust-process-window-size process (list window)))))
(setq-local window-adjust-process-window-size-function
            'window-adjust-process-window-size-smallest)
(goto-char (point-min))
(redisplay)
(goto-char (point-max))
(redisplay)
(setq-local window-adjust-process-window-size-function 'ignore))

I start an eat shell and run:

cd ~/repos/project-x && claude

This is a fast moving landscape and I find following few points are extremely helpful in my workflow:

• Spend few minutes to gather up and feed context related to what needs to be done to Claude at the start of a session.
• Always ask to show a plan and instruct Claude for guidance if there multiple options for a solution.
• Provide a skeleton such as directory structure, file names, function names and signatures.
• Provide use case and acceptance criteria testing instructions.

On top of that, you need to make sure Claude has access to tools that enhances its ability to look up relevant information. To provide more balanced overview of the AI coding experience, I used a great data analysis tool for Hacker News called CamelAI. Below are the result that more or less resonates with my personal experience.