Claude Code turned a 3-week project into a 2-day task — but nearly broke it

Hugh Williams, a former engineering VP at Google and eBay, recently embarked on an intensive two-day collaboration with Claude Code, Anthropic's AI-driven coding assistant. His experience? A revelation akin to a carpenter discovering high-tech tools at their disposal. In just 48 hours, Williams successfully built a fully operational system on AWS, a feat he estimated would typically consume a minimum of three weeks. Not only did he code, but he also adeptly learned to navigate a new graph database, AWS Neptune, ensuring that his output was clean, modular, and scalable. However, the journey wasn’t without its challenges. Williams noted that approximately every hour, Claude Code would compress its conversation context, leading to potential breakdowns in the coding process. He shared on LinkedIn that he quickly adapted by wrapping up milestones and updating documentation before starting fresh conversations to avoid issues related to context loss. He also recounted a common misstep: asking Claude to tidy up code directories, which resulted in the loss of crucial features and working code. This taught him the importance of manual backups every hour to revert to earlier versions when things went sideways. Additionally, he discovered that Claude Code sometimes introduced unnecessary or duplicate features, prompting him to regularly review the code to ensure the project remained on track. Despite these hiccups, Williams is optimistic about Claude Code's potential, believing it can handle about 50% of the workload for seasoned developers, with an upper limit of around 75%, signifying a significant productivity boost. For experienced programmers, Claude Code presents a powerful tool, though it may not yet be suitable for beginners. The key takeaway? For those in the know, Claude Code is a transformative asset, but remember to back up your work diligently!