Claude Code

“Documentation is no longer a record of what was built; it is the infrastructure through which we build.” — Matt Gierhart

I’ve been using Claude Code within my Obsidian vault since late summer 2025. Unlike chatbots that start fresh every conversation, the context persists: files stay, and knowledge builds. It’s the difference between talking to someone with amnesia and someone who actually remembers what you’ve been working on. I use it for research, writing, project management, and building small tools. It became the interface to my work. What fascinates me is that this hands-on experience feels fundamentally different from the abstract AI discourse. The hype around “agents” loses its mystique when they’re just a tool in your workflow. “AI is whatever doesn’t work yet. When it does, it’s just software.” This is what it feels like when AI turns into software.

Claude Code is a terminal-based tool by Anthropic that works directly with local files and folders. Unlike browser-based chat interfaces, it can read, edit, and create files. It understands project context and executes multi-step tasks autonomously. Originally built for developers, more and more knowledge workers are discovering it for non-technical tasks: research, writing, data analysis, and personal knowledge management.

The strangest outcome for me: I just talk to Claude about how to solve problems, and then I’m developing code all of a sudden, and now I’m publishing stuff on GitHub. Did not see that coming.

Why It Matters

• The Magic of Claude Code — Noah Brier on why Claude Code became indispensable: Unix-style composability, filesystem access, and how it turns Obsidian into a second brain.
• Claude Code is about so much more than coding — How Claude Code functions as a general-purpose AI agent that happens to use code, not a coding tool that happens to be an agent.
• Move Over, ChatGPT — Lila Shroff in The Atlantic on the viral moment: people building personal tools without code, from iMessage analytics to fridge-scanning recipe apps.
• Why the Tech World Is Going Crazy for Claude Code — Odd Lots podcast with Noah Brier explaining the basics and why it matters.

Getting Started

• Claude Code for Everything — Hannah Stulberg’s beginner-friendly setup guide, no coding required.
• Claude Code: What It Is, How It’s Different — Teresa Torres explains the fundamental difference: ChatGPT gives advice, Claude Code actually does things.
• Brain Dead — Igor Schwarzmann’s reference architecture for combining markdown-based knowledge management with Claude Code.

In January 2026, Anthropic released a preview of Claude Cowork, essentially Claude Code packaged for non-technical users. It brings the persistent, task-delegation capabilities to a graphical interface. Katie Parrott explains it well: Claude Cowork Is Claude Code for the Rest of Us. For a practical beginner’s guide, see Arman Hezarkhani’s thread.

Of course, people are also starting to use Claude Code for foresight work.