Adopting Claude as Primary AI Development Partner

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Context

After testing multiple LLMs across real projects—code generation, writing, research, reasoning—I needed to standardize on a primary tool. The choice affects workflow, output quality, and how I think about AI collaboration.

Decision

Use Claude (Anthropic) as primary AI collaborator for coding, writing, and complex reasoning tasks

Alternatives Considered

ChatGPT (OpenAI)

Pros
  • Larger ecosystem and community
  • More plugins and integrations
  • GPT-4 vision capabilities
  • Familiar to most people
Cons
  • Inconsistent reasoning on complex tasks
  • More likely to confidently hallucinate
  • Context window felt limiting for large codebases

Claude (Anthropic)

Pros
  • More nuanced reasoning and self-correction
  • Better at admitting uncertainty
  • Longer context window for large projects
  • Claude Code for terminal-based development
  • Feels more like collaboration than query-response
Cons
  • Smaller ecosystem
  • Fewer integrations
  • Less brand recognition

Multiple tools for different tasks

Pros
  • Best tool for each job
  • Flexibility
Cons
  • Context switching overhead
  • No accumulated context across projects
  • Harder to develop intuition for one tool's strengths

Reasoning

The difference isn't capability—both are highly capable. It's collaboration quality. Claude feels more like working with a thoughtful colleague who will push back and ask questions. ChatGPT feels more like a very smart autocomplete. For the kind of work I do—building systems where decisions matter—I need a partner that helps me think, not just execute. Claude Code specifically changed how I work: terminal-based, iterative, conversational development.

The Collaboration Difference

This isn’t about which model is “smarter.” It’s about workflow and thinking style.

Query-response pattern (how I used ChatGPT):

  • Ask question → Get answer → Evaluate → Repeat

Collaborative pattern (how I use Claude):

  • Describe problem → Discuss approaches → Work through together → Refine → Ship

The second pattern builds understanding. I’m not just getting code—I’m developing judgment about why this approach over that one.

Claude Code Changed Everything

Terminal-based AI development felt strange at first. Now I can’t imagine going back to copy-pasting between browser and IDE.

The key insight: AI collaboration works better when it’s embedded in your actual workflow, not a separate window you switch to.

Where I Still Use Other Tools

  • Quick factual lookups: Perplexity (faster, search-optimized)
  • Image generation: Midjourney
  • Specific API questions: Sometimes ChatGPT has better coverage

But for the core work—building systems, writing, strategic thinking—Claude is home base.

The Meta-Decision

Choosing a primary tool isn’t just about features. It’s about developing intuition.

When you work deeply with one AI, you learn its patterns—where it’s strong, where it struggles, how to frame problems so it can help effectively. That intuition doesn’t transfer if you’re constantly switching tools.

All decisions