# Claude Code

> My main tool. I haven't hand-written code in two years.

- Verdict: My default
- Vendor: Anthropic
- Layer: [Build and test](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/layers/dev.md). Job: AI coding agent
- Last reviewed: 18 October 2026, by Nicolas Dao (Cloudless Labs, Sydney)
- Web page: https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/claude-code/. The whole stack in one file: https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/brief.md

The best coding agent I've used so far. I coach teams to work with it.

## Use it when

- Writing, refactoring, testing and deploying code, including Pulumi stacks.
- Reverse-engineering on-premises systems before a migration: it reads the source code, drives the CLIs and maps what's there, then writes the gap analysis and the migration plan, lift-and-shift or modernisation.
- Analysing AWS bills: I let it read Cost Explorer and CloudWatch to find what's expensive.

## Instead, consider

- [OpenAI Codex](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/openai-codex/index.md): Computer control and images.

## Where it fits

- [Moving on-premises systems to AWS](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/use-cases/migration.md): pick 1. First step. It reverse-engineers the existing system: reads the source code, drives the CLIs, maps what's there, then writes the gap analysis and the migration plan, lift-and-shift or modernisation.
- [Building with AI agents](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/use-cases/ai-dev.md): pick 1. Writes the code.

## Related

- [Build and test](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/layers/dev.md): every tool in this layer, with its verdict
- [The whole stack in one file](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/brief.md): every use case and tool, for questions that span many
- [Map of every Markdown file on cloudlesslabs.com, with what each one answers](https://ask.cloudlesslabs.com)