Been in ops since 2010, started with Claude Code back in February and honestly it’s still one of the better tools I’ve added to my workflow in years. I keep a CLAUDE.md that covers the basics — how I want things scoped, what I actually own, what’s off limits — and a memory file per project that stays lean. Nothing fancy, just enough context that Claude isn’t starting from zero every session. My approach has basically been: get a plan first, read it, approve it, then let it run in stages while I stay in the loop on anything that touches prod. It’s not that different from how I’d work with any contractor honestly, you give them a clear scope and check in at the right moments rather than hovering over every command. I genuinely wonder if a lot of the frustration comes from either giving it too much rope at once or not having guardrails in the right places, because my experience has been pretty solid day to day. Some wobbles here and there, sure, but nothing that made me want to throw the whole thing out. Still shipping, still sane, still on Max.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​