Build new features on top of the codebase with AI vibe coding tools

I highly recommend that before starting any work with an AI tool you should use Git to create a feature branch. This means that if the AI makes a mistake it doesn't damage any of the core starter kit code on your main branch.

1. Create new feature branch (off your default main branch):

git checkout -b [your-new-feature-branch-name]

2. Switch back to the main branch:

Once you are happy that the new feature you created with AI is working and you have achieved your desired outcome, you can switch back to main.

git checkout main

3. Squash merge feature branch onto the main branch.

At this point you want to put all the changes you made on your feature branch and merge them into your main branch. I recommend using the "squash" version of this merge command so you only have one "clean" commit message on the main branch providing a record of the merge of your feature branch onto the main branch.

This is because you don't want your main branch to be "polluted" with all the details of multiple commits from feature branches. If for any reason, you want to go back into the details of this history you can always switch back into your feature branch.

Here is the squash merge command to execute on the main branch

git merge --squash [your-feature-branch-name]

Claude Claude

At the time of writing, the most effective way to use Claude Code is directly on the terminal.

Go here for the various install options based on your operating system: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/quickstart

In the terminal, run claude inside your starter kit project directory and ensure that you have switched to your feature branch.

When working on bigger features, it is a good idea to be in plan mode:

OpenAI Codex

Go to the OpenAI Codex website and download the desktop app for your operating system: https://openai.com/codex/

Inside the Codex desktop app you can add the starter kit as a new project. This means that Codex will have the full context on your codebase and can make edits to multiple files directly in the project.