Question 1

How should a new team member's first day with Claude Code be set up?

Accepted Answer

Propose an onboarding order — and stress that day one does not start with writing code: 1. Install and log in — the CLI, then the Android Studio plugin. 2. A repo that is already configured — CLAUDE.md, .claude/settings.json (permission rules) and, if used, .mcp.json should already be in the project. A newcomer inherits them, they don't build them. 3. A verification task — ask the agent to explain the project. That checks both the newcomer's understanding and that the configuration works. 4. A small real task — a string extraction or small bug fix, all the way to a PR. 5. Team rules — what we don't delegate, what we look for in review. The core idea: working with the agent is not a personal habit but repo configuration. In a well-configured repo a newcomer is productive on day one.

Question 2

The agent is very slow on an Android project. How would you investigate?

Accepted Answer

Split the causes in two: The build side (usually the main cause): The agent runs a full ./gradlew build every iteration. Switch to the narrow module command. The Gradle daemon and configuration cache are disabled. The whole test suite runs when the changed module's tests would do. The context side: The agent reads far more files than needed — the task isn't narrow. CLAUDE.md has grown and eats a large share of context every session. The session is very long, so the whole history is resent on each request. Order of fixes: first pin down the build commands in CLAUDE.md (biggest impact), then narrow the tasks, then trim CLAUDE.md.

Question 3

What drives the choice between the terminal CLI and the IDE plugin?

Accepted Answer

Start with the key nuance: they are complementary, not alternatives — both run the same engine and the same repo configuration. The IDE plugin — inline diff review, referencing the file you're editing, staying in one context. Comfortable for day-to-day feature work. The terminal CLI — scripting, non-interactive -p runs, CI, long tasks, parallel sessions. In practice an Android developer uses both: everyday work in Android Studio, automation and bulk work in the terminal. Since the configuration (CLAUDE.md, permissions, MCP) lives in the repo, it is identical on both surfaces.

Claude Code: installation and first workflow

📚 Sources and documentation