Workflow Automation with Claude Code

Reading time: 13 minIntermediate

Supercharge your development workflow by automating repetitive tasks and creating custom commands with Claude Code.

Getting Started with Automation

Claude Code can automate many aspects of your development workflow, from code generation to testing and deployment. Let's explore how to set up and use these automation capabilities.

The Claude Script Directory

Create a .claude directory in your project root to store custom scripts and configurations:

project-root/
├── .claude/
│ ├── scripts/
│ ├── templates/
│ └── config.json
├── src/
└── ...

Claude Code automatically detects and uses this directory for custom automation.

Basic Workflow Configuration

Create a config.json file in the .claude directory:

{
  "projectName": "MyAwesomeProject",
  "description": "A React application for financial management",
  "workflows": {
    "component": {
      "templatePath": "./templates/component.tsx",
      "outputPath": "src/components/{name}/{name}.tsx"
    },
    "test": {
      "templatePath": "./templates/test.tsx",
      "outputPath": "src/components/{name}/__tests__/{name}.test.tsx"
    }
  }
}

This configuration defines template-based workflows for component and test creation.

Creating Custom Scripts

Custom scripts allow you to automate complex multi-step processes with Claude Code:

Script Structure

Create a JavaScript file in the .claude/scripts directory:

// .claude/scripts/create-feature.js

module.exports = async (claude, args) => {
  const { featureName } = args;

  // Create feature directory
  await claude.exec(`mkdir -p src/features/${featureName}`);

  // Create component files
  await claude.generateFile(
    `src/features/${featureName}/${featureName}Page.tsx`,
    `Create a React component for the ${featureName} feature page`
  );

  // Create service files
  await claude.generateFile(
    `src/features/${featureName}/${featureName}Service.ts`,
    `Create a service for the ${featureName} feature that handles data fetching and processing`
  );

  // Update route configuration
  await claude.modifyFile(
    'src/routes.tsx',
    `Add a route for the ${featureName} feature page`
  );

  return `${featureName} feature created successfully!`;
};

Running Custom Scripts

Execute your custom scripts using the claude run command:

claude run create-feature --featureName=userProfile

This will execute your script with the provided arguments, creating all the necessary files for the user profile feature.

Template-Based Generation

Templates allow you to standardize code generation while maintaining consistency:

Creating Templates

Create template files in the .claude/templates directory:

// .claude/templates/component.tsx

import React from 'react';

interface {{name}}Props {
  // Add props here
}

export const {{name}} = ({ ...props }: {{name}}Props) => {
  return (
    <div className="{{kebabCase name}}-component">
      {/* Component content */}
    </div>
  );
};

export default {{name}};

Templates use handlebars-style syntax with variables like {{name}} that get replaced during generation.

Using Templates

Generate files from templates with the claude generate command:

claude generate component --name=UserProfile

This will create a new component based on your template at src/components/UserProfile/UserProfile.tsx.

Common Automation Scenarios

Here are some practical automation scenarios you can implement with Claude Code:

API Integration

Automate the creation of API integration code:

claude run create-api-client --apiSpec=swagger.json --outputDir=src/api

This script could parse a Swagger/OpenAPI spec and generate typed API client code.

Database Migrations

Generate database migration files from model changes:

claude run create-migration --modelFile=src/models/User.ts --name=add-user-preferences

Claude Code can analyze model changes and generate appropriate migration code.

Test Generation

Automatically generate tests for new components:

claude run generate-tests --component=src/components/UserProfile.tsx

This script could analyze a component and create appropriate unit tests.

Documentation Updates

Keep documentation in sync with code changes:

claude run update-docs --sourceDir=src/api --outputFile=docs/api-reference.md

Claude Code can analyze your code and update documentation accordingly.

Advanced Automation Techniques

Take your automation to the next level with these advanced techniques:

CI/CD Integration

Integrate Claude Code automation into your CI/CD pipeline:

# .github/workflows/claude-checks.yml

name: Claude Code Checks

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  code-quality:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Install Claude CLI
        run: npm install -g @anthropic/claude-cli
      - name: Run Claude Code Review
        run: claude run code-review --reporter=github

Event-Based Automation

Set up automations that trigger based on project events:

// .claude/config.json

{
  // ... other config
  "events": {
    "onComponentCreate": "generate-tests",
    "onModelChange": "update-migrations",
    "onApiChange": "update-documentation"
  }
}

This configuration tells Claude Code to automatically run certain scripts when specific events occur.

Next Steps

Now that you've learned about workflow automation, explore these related guides: