Claude setup playbook

End-to-end project setup for Claude Code and Claude app.

A private reference page for starting new products, retrofitting ongoing repos, choosing skills, and copying the right CLAUDE.md instructions for each phase.

How to use this

Use this as a repeatable setup ritual whenever a project starts or an old repo needs Claude configuration.

Install the core terminal skills.Superpowers, Caveman, Cavecrew, frontend-design, selected design skills, agent-browser, claude-seo, and marketingskills.
Upload app skills only for strategy/content/legal work.Use Claude app for product strategy, social content, voice, legal risk review, and ad angle brainstorming.
Add the root CLAUDE.md.Keep it as a router. Do not put every phase workflow inside one massive file.
Copy a phase template only when needed.Use the design, launch/SEO, or retrofit templates as temporary playbooks inside docs/ or a focused CLAUDE.md add-on.

Claude Code / terminal skills

Install these where Claude can read the repo, edit files, run checks, and verify the product in the browser.

Superpowers

Core

Main engineering workflow for planning, implementation, review, and testing.

Use when: Every serious coding project.

Caveman + Caveman Ultra

Core

Keeps terminal-agent output compact and token-efficient.

Use when: Use normal/compact for coding. Avoid Ultra for design, UX, copy, strategy, and legal review.

Cavecrew

Core

Small compressed subagents for focused investigation, review, and isolated edits.

Use when: Use for narrow research, code review, diff review, or isolated implementation tasks.

Anthropic frontend-design

Recommended

Raises UI quality: layout, typography, hierarchy, color, and non-generic visual direction.

Use when: Landing pages, dashboards, onboarding, pricing pages, component design.

Owl designer-skills subset

Recommended

Use only selected skills: ui-design, design-systems, interaction-design, visual-critique.

Use when: Design-heavy work. Do not install the full suite by default.

Vercel agent-browser

Recommended

Browser automation and verification: click, fill, snapshot, screenshot, mobile viewport checks.

Use when: Any UI behavior, form, responsive layout, or pre-launch QA task.

claude-seo

Recommended

Technical SEO, metadata, schema, content quality, local/international SEO, AI-search readiness.

Use when: Before launch and after major content/page changes.

marketingskills

Recommended

Conversion, landing-page persuasion, funnel thinking, growth experiments, copy improvements.

Use when: Landing pages, pricing, homepage, activation flows, analytics/event ideas.

claude-ads

Later

Ad account/campaign audit and paid acquisition optimization.

Use when: Only after validation or when real campaign exports exist.

claude-for-legal

Careful

Legal/compliance review support. Better in Claude app unless the repo directly needs legal docs edited.

Use when: Privacy, terms, cookies, SaaS contracts, claims review, licenses. Not a lawyer replacement.

Claude app skills

Use these for strategy, voice, content, positioning, and legal/compliance thinking before implementation.

social-media-skills

App

Voice builder, profile optimizer, post writer, newsletter voice, launch content.

Best for: Claude app first. Use Claude Code only if content lives in the repo.

marketingskills

App

Positioning, ICP, offer, landing-page angle, objection handling, funnel strategy.

Best for: Claude app for strategy; Claude Code for implementation and page copy edits.

claude-for-legal

App

Privacy, terms, GDPR/cookie notes, marketing claims, license risk review.

Best for: Claude app for review and reasoning; Claude Code only to implement final text/components.

frontend-design / selected design skills

App

Visual direction, critique, UX/page structure before coding.

Best for: Claude app for broad direction; Claude Code for turning it into components.

claude-ads

App

Paid acquisition brainstorms, ad angles, campaign audit after data exists.

Best for: Claude app for ad ideas; Claude Code for exports, campaign reports, and landing-page fixes.

Do not use by default

These can be useful later, but they create workflow overlap or context noise if installed too early.

GStack in the main project workflow. Test it in a separate project first.

Full Owl designer-skills suite. Start with 4 design skills only.

Full claude-for-legal inside every repo. Prefer a small legal-risk-review checklist.

claude-ads before the product has traffic, validation, or campaign data.

One giant CLAUDE.md with every phase. Use root routing + phase files/skills instead.

End-to-end project phases

Each phase should produce persistent files in docs/ so future Claude sessions do not have to rediscover the project.

1. Idea and positioning

Claude app

Skills: marketingskills, social-media-skills, optional legal-risk-review

Outputs:

  • docs/product/idea.md
  • docs/product/icp.md
  • docs/product/positioning.md
  • docs/product/offer.md
  • docs/marketing/content-angles.md

2. Requirements and MVP scope

Claude Code

Skills: Superpowers, Caveman normal, marketingskills lightly

Outputs:

  • docs/product/requirements.md
  • docs/product/mvp-scope.md
  • docs/product/user-stories.md
  • docs/product/non-goals.md

3. Design direction

Claude Code or Claude app → Code

Skills: frontend-design, ui-design, design-systems, interaction-design, visual-critique

Outputs:

  • docs/design/design-direction.md
  • docs/design/component-system.md
  • docs/design/page-wireframes.md
  • src/components/*

4. Build

Claude Code

Skills: Superpowers, Caveman, Cavecrew, agent-browser

Outputs:

  • Working app
  • Tests
  • README.md
  • .env.example
  • docs/dev/deployment-notes.md

5. Browser QA

Claude Code

Skills: agent-browser, Cavecrew for focused checks

Outputs:

  • docs/qa/browser-qa.md
  • Screenshot notes
  • Bug list
  • Fixes verified in browser

6. SEO and conversion

Claude Code

Skills: claude-seo, marketingskills, agent-browser

Outputs:

  • docs/marketing/seo-audit.md
  • metadata/schema fixes
  • landing copy improvements
  • analytics events checklist

7. Legal and compliance pass

Claude app first, Claude Code second

Skills: legal-risk-review or claude-for-legal

Outputs:

  • docs/legal/legal-risk-notes.md
  • privacy/cookie/terms notes
  • claims to verify
  • implementation TODOs

8. Launch content

Claude app mostly

Skills: social-media-skills, marketingskills

Outputs:

  • docs/marketing/launch-plan.md
  • LinkedIn posts
  • newsletter draft
  • short-form posts
  • launch announcement

9. Ads after validation

Claude app or Claude Code with exports

Skills: claude-ads, marketingskills, agent-browser

Outputs:

  • docs/marketing/ad-angles.md
  • campaign audit
  • landing-page test ideas
  • tracking recommendations

10. Retrospective and iteration

Claude Code

Skills: Superpowers, marketingskills, claude-seo

Outputs:

  • docs/product/retro.md
  • docs/product/next-iteration.md
  • prioritized backlog

Copy-paste templates

Copy the root file first. Then copy phase-specific templates only when that phase starts.

Root CLAUDE.md

Use this at the root of a new project. Keep it short and let skills handle detailed workflows.

CLAUDE.md
# Project Instructions

## Project goal

This repo is an end-to-end product project. Claude should help with product planning, design, implementation, SEO, QA, launch, and iteration.

## Workflow owner

Default engineering workflow:
- Use Superpowers for planning, implementation, testing, and review.
- Use Caveman for concise communication during coding.
- Do not use Caveman Ultra for design, UX, copywriting, product strategy, legal review, or marketing strategy.
- Use Cavecrew only for focused investigation, review, or isolated edits.

## Skill routing

### Product and planning
Use product-discovery or project docs when defining:
- target user
- problem
- MVP
- feature scope
- launch plan

### Design
Use frontend-design and selected design skills when working on:
- landing pages
- dashboards
- UI components
- visual hierarchy
- spacing, typography, color, layout
- mobile responsiveness

Before coding major UI, produce a compact design plan:
- audience
- page job
- visual direction
- typography
- palette
- layout
- key components
- anti-generic critique

### Development
Use Superpowers as the main workflow for:
- feature implementation
- refactors
- tests
- architecture decisions
- debugging

### Browser QA
Use agent-browser whenever UI behavior or visual correctness matters.
Verify changes in the browser before claiming completion.

### SEO
Use claude-seo for:
- technical SEO
- metadata
- schema
- content quality
- local SEO
- international SEO
- launch audits

Use marketingskills for:
- conversion
- copywriting
- landing page persuasion
- funnel improvements
- analytics/event ideas

### Legal and compliance
Do not give final legal conclusions.
Use legal-risk-review only to identify issues to verify:
- privacy
- cookies
- terms
- refunds
- user data
- regulated claims
- AI-generated content
- open-source licenses

### Social and launch content
Use social/content skills for:
- launch posts
- LinkedIn content
- newsletter drafts
- content repurposing
- voice consistency

## Conflict rule

User request > project CLAUDE.md > active slash command > skill defaults.

Only one high-level workflow should own the task at a time.
If two skills overlap, choose based on the routing above.

## Output expectations

For every substantial task:
- state what changed
- mention files edited
- mention tests or browser checks run
- mention remaining risks or TODOs

Ongoing project retrofit instructions

Paste this into CLAUDE.md or docs/project/retrofit.md when adding Claude to an existing project.

CLAUDE.md add-on or docs/project/retrofit.md
# Ongoing Project Retrofit Instructions

## First task before changing code

Before implementing new features, audit the existing project.

Produce:
- docs/project/current-state.md
- docs/project/architecture.md
- docs/project/risk-list.md
- docs/project/setup-notes.md

## Audit checklist

Inspect:
- framework and package manager
- app routes/pages
- data model and persistence
- auth and permissions
- environment variables, without reading secrets directly
- deployment setup
- tests and scripts
- styling system
- SEO metadata
- analytics/tracking
- error handling
- accessibility and responsive behavior

## Rules

- Do not rewrite the architecture unless there is a clear reason.
- Prefer small, reversible changes.
- Preserve existing conventions unless they are actively harmful.
- Before editing, explain the smallest safe plan.
- After editing, run the relevant checks.
- If UI is changed, verify with agent-browser.

Design phase instructions

Use this as a temporary phase file or section when working on UI/UX-heavy tasks.

docs/design/design-playbook.md or CLAUDE.md add-on
# Design Phase Instructions

## Goal

Create interfaces that look intentional, modern, and production-ready. Avoid generic AI-generated UI.

## Use these skills

- frontend-design
- ui-design
- design-systems
- interaction-design
- visual-critique

Do not use Caveman Ultra during this phase.

## Design plan required before coding

For each major page or flow, produce:
- target audience
- page job
- emotional tone
- layout structure
- typography direction
- color palette direction
- spacing rhythm
- primary components
- mobile behavior
- one signature visual detail
- anti-generic critique

## Implementation expectations

- Use the existing design system if present.
- If no design system exists, create minimal tokens for spacing, radius, type scale, and colors.
- Make mobile excellent, not just acceptable.
- Use real copy, not lorem ipsum, when possible.
- Verify important UI states in the browser.

## Output

Create or update:
- docs/design/design-direction.md
- docs/design/component-system.md
- screenshots or browser QA notes when useful

Launch, SEO, and conversion instructions

Use when preparing a site/product for launch or improving an existing landing page.

docs/marketing/launch-seo-playbook.md or CLAUDE.md add-on
# Launch, SEO, and Conversion Instructions

## Goal

Prepare the product for launch with clear messaging, strong technical SEO, and conversion-focused pages.

## Skill routing

Use claude-seo for:
- technical SEO
- metadata
- schema
- sitemap/robots checks
- canonical URLs
- structured data
- content quality
- local/international SEO when relevant

Use marketingskills for:
- positioning
- headlines
- offer clarity
- objections
- CTAs
- pricing page logic
- funnel improvements
- analytics/event ideas

Use agent-browser for:
- checking the live or local page
- screenshots
- mobile viewport review
- form and CTA verification

## Required outputs

Create or update:
- docs/marketing/seo-audit.md
- docs/marketing/conversion-review.md
- docs/marketing/launch-checklist.md

## Launch checklist

Verify:
- page titles and meta descriptions
- Open Graph and social previews
- schema markup when useful
- sitemap and robots policy
- canonical URLs
- favicon and manifest
- analytics/events
- form success/error states
- mobile layout
- page speed basics
- privacy/cookie links when needed

Claude app product strategy prompt

Start in Claude app before opening the repo. Then copy the outputs into docs/.

Prompt for Claude app
I am starting an end-to-end product project.

Help me define:
1. target user / ICP
2. painful problem
3. current alternatives
4. sharp positioning
5. offer
6. MVP scope
7. non-goals
8. landing page angle
9. launch channels
10. obvious legal/privacy risks to verify

Output the result as files I can later create in my repo:
- docs/product/idea.md
- docs/product/icp.md
- docs/product/positioning.md
- docs/product/offer.md
- docs/product/mvp-scope.md
- docs/marketing/content-angles.md
- docs/legal/legal-risk-notes.md

Claude Code kickoff prompt

Use after adding CLAUDE.md to a new or existing repo.

Prompt for Claude Code terminal
We are configuring this project for end-to-end development.

First, read the repo structure and create a compact project map.
Do not make code changes yet.

Then produce:
- docs/project/current-state.md
- docs/project/architecture.md
- docs/project/setup-notes.md
- docs/project/next-steps.md

After that, propose the smallest safe next task.
Use the CLAUDE.md routing rules for skills and workflows.

Skill installation checklist

Quick reference for what belongs in terminal Claude vs Claude app.

docs/project/skill-install-checklist.md
# Skill Installation Checklist

## Claude Code / terminal agent

Core:
- Superpowers
- Caveman
- Cavecrew

Design:
- Anthropic frontend-design
- Owl ui-design
- Owl design-systems
- Owl interaction-design
- Owl visual-critique

Execution and QA:
- Vercel agent-browser

Marketing and SEO:
- marketingskills
- claude-seo

Optional later:
- claude-ads
- small custom legal-risk-review skill
- GStack in a separate test project only

## Claude app

Strategy and content:
- social-media-skills voice-builder
- social-media-skills post-writer
- social-media-skills profile-optimizer
- marketingskills

Legal/compliance review:
- claude-for-legal only when needed

Design strategy:
- frontend-design or selected design skills if useful

## Do not install by default

- Full Owl suite
- Full claude-for-legal inside every repo
- claude-ads before there is validation or campaign data
- GStack as the default workflow

Suggested project structure

This keeps instructions, project memory, design decisions, SEO work, and launch material organized.

project/
  CLAUDE.md
  docs/
    project/
      current-state.md
      architecture.md
      setup-notes.md
      next-steps.md
    product/
      idea.md
      icp.md
      positioning.md
      offer.md
      requirements.md
      mvp-scope.md
      user-stories.md
      non-goals.md
    design/
      design-direction.md
      component-system.md
      page-wireframes.md
    marketing/
      seo-audit.md
      conversion-review.md
      content-angles.md
      launch-plan.md
      launch-checklist.md
    legal/
      legal-risk-notes.md
    qa/
      browser-qa.md
  .claude/
    skills/
      product-discovery/
      landing-page-build/
      seo-audit/
      launch-content/
      legal-risk-review/
      browser-qa/