Code · Workflow

Claude Code only

Pure-CLI: scope, plan, write, fix all inside Claude Code

If you live in the terminal, you don't need a chat tab next to your editor. Claude Code can plan a change, edit the files, run the tests, and stage the commit — all in one session. CodeRabbit reviews the PR; you bounce findings back to the same Claude Code session for fixes.

CODEBUILDERINTERMEDIATEIntermediateFrom $0/mo

Claude Code· Plan + write + fixCodeRabbit· Automated PR review

The stack

Claude Code

Plan + write + fix

Give it the ticket, it produces a plan, asks clarifying questions, then implements. Skills encode your repo conventions; hooks gate dangerous commands. Subagents handle reviews and verifications without polluting the main thread.

Bundled with Claude Pro $20/mo · Max $100-200/mo · API meteredAlts: Codex, Cursor

CodeRabbit

Automated PR review

Same role as the recommended stack. The CLI-only loop pairs especially well with CodeRabbit because the agent can pipe `gh pr view` straight into its own context to fix findings without you copying anything.

Free for OSS · $12/mo per dev ProAlts: Claude

Real monthly cost

small

$0/mo

Solo OSS maintainer

claude-codeFree tier
coderabbitFree (OSS)

medium

$32/mo

Indie dev, daily PRs

claude-code$20 Pro
coderabbit$12/dev

heavy

$160/mo

Heavy agentic use, multiple parallel sessions

claude-code$100 Max
coderabbit$60 (5 devs)

Workflow

Open a sessionClaude Code

`cd repo && claude`. Hand it the ticket as the first message. Let it ask the clarifying questions a chat tab would have surfaced.

Prompt · Plan-and-implement from a ticket (Claude Code)

I want a small, well-scoped PR for the change below. Plan first, then implement. Ask 1 to 2 clarifying questions before you start writing if anything is genuinely ambiguous.

Ticket / problem:
"""
{{paste ticket}}
"""

Constraints:
- Smallest viable diff.
- Match the existing code style. Read 2 to 3 nearby files before introducing a new pattern.
- Run the project's test command before reporting done.
- If a CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md exists at the repo root, treat it as authoritative for conventions.

When you're done: print the file list, the test result, and a 2-line summary I can paste as the commit message.

2
Open the PRClaude Code
Use Claude Code's `/pr` workflow (or `gh pr create`). It writes the PR description from the diff. CodeRabbit posts its review within ~60s.

Triage CodeRabbit, in-sessionClaude Code

Pipe the review into the same Claude Code session: `gh pr view --json comments | claude`. The agent sees the findings, the diff, and the codebase together — no copy-paste.

Prompt · Triage and patch CodeRabbit findings inside Claude Code

I just opened a PR. CodeRabbit posted comments. I'm pasting them below. For each comment:

1. Decide: real issue, style nit, or wrong (false positive).
2. For real issues + non-trivial nits: produce a minimal patch. Run the tests. Reply on the PR explaining the fix.
3. For false positives: write a 1-line PR reply explaining why we're declining, no code change.

Do NOT batch-resolve nits without reading them. Do NOT introduce changes outside the scope of each comment.

CodeRabbit comments:
"""
{{paste 'gh pr view --json comments' or the comment thread}}
"""

4
Re-review and mergeCodeRabbit
Push fixes; CodeRabbit re-reviews. Merge once it's quiet and the human review is approved.

What it produced

Solo founder, comparison week

Ran the same 8 tickets through this stack and the chat-led recommended stack. Time-to-merge dropped from 90 to 55 min/PR average. The trade-off: 2 of the 8 tickets needed a chat-tab debate before the agent could plan well — for those, the chat-led stack still won.

Common pitfalls

No external rubber duck

When you genuinely don't know what to build, a CLI agent that's already implementing is the wrong tool. Drop back to a chat tab for the open-ended part, then come back to Claude Code to ship.

Yolo mode on a real repo

Claude Code can run shell commands. Configure permissions and hooks before you hand it a repo with deploy credentials, migrations, or a production .env in scope.

Other ways to do Ship code with AI

Ship code with AI Recommended

Plan in Claude chat, write in Claude Code, review with CodeRabbit

$0/mo

View stack

Codex (CLI + cloud)

OpenAI Codex: terminal CLI for active work, cloud lane for autonomous PRs

$0/mo

View stack

Cursor (IDE-first)

AI inside the editor, not in a chat tab or terminal

$0/mo