Global People Labs
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RESOURCE · BUILDER PATH

Claude Code, Git & Terminal for People Leaders.

No prior coding experience required. By the end of this page, you'll have a versioned, terminal-native Chief of Staff. About 20 minutes of setup.

WHO THIS IS FOR

When the browser isn't enough

Claude Projects gets you 80% of the way. The Builder Path is for the other 20% — versioning your CoS, working across many files, deploying Skills to a team, or scripting routines that run on a schedule.

STAY IN BROWSER IF
  • Your CoS is a single Project knowledge upload
  • You don't need version history of drafts
  • You're solo, not sharing with a team
  • You haven't yet shipped Project 2.1 v1
MOVE TO BUILDER PATH IF
  • You want to revert a bad CoS edit
  • You're sharing Skills with your team
  • Your CoS spans 5+ files of context
  • You want routines that run while you sleep

SETUP · ABOUT 20 MINUTES

Five steps to a terminal-native CoS

Do these once. They unlock everything else on this page. If anything breaks, drop it in the cohort chat with #builder-help.

1
5 MINUTES

Sign up for GitHub

Go to github.com and create an account with a username you're happy to share professionally. Verify your email. That's it — no repos to create yet.

github.com → Sign up → verify email
PROJECT 3.1
SUBMISSION
2
3 MINUTES

Install Claude Code

Single installer. Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux. After install, the claude command is available in any terminal.

curl -fsSL claude.ai/install.sh | sh
# or download from claude.com/code
~50MB
DOWNLOAD
3
1 MINUTE

Open Terminal · type claude

macOS: Cmd-Space → "Terminal". Windows: search "Terminal" or "PowerShell". Type claude and hit enter. First-time setup will ask you to sign in once.

$ claude
Welcome to Claude Code. Sign in at... (browser opens)
FIRST TIME
ONLY
4
5 MINUTES

Move your CoS files into a folder · run /init

Make a folder for your CoS. Put your working-style.md, cos-instructions.md, and any reference files inside. Open it in Claude Code. Type /init — it scaffolds a CLAUDE.md for you. Edit before committing.

$ mkdir ~/my-cos && cd ~/my-cos
$ mv ~/Downloads/working-style.md .
$ claude
> /init
/init
GENERATOR
5
5 MINUTES

Commit to Git · your CoS is now versioned

Inside the folder: git init · stage your files · commit. Every future edit gets a history entry. Bad draft? Revert in one command.

$ git init
$ git add CLAUDE.md working-style.md
$ git commit -m "CoS v1 · initial"
# push to GitHub when ready:
$ git remote add origin https://github.com/<you>/my-cos
$ git push -u origin main
VERSIONED
PRODUCT
$ cd ~/my-cos && claude
✓ Reading CLAUDE.md (your operating rules)
✓ Reading working-style.md (your brain)
 
> Pull this week's Granola transcripts and draft my Friday CHRO update
 
reading granola/2026-06-02.md
reading granola/2026-06-04.md
applying tone from working-style.md
drafting drafts/chro-2026-06-05.md
 
✓ ready · 340 words · 2 open questions for you

ANATOMY OF CLAUDE.md

The most important file you'll ever write

CLAUDE.md tells Claude how to behave in this folder. Personal preferences · context · what to do without asking. Claude reads it on every session.

# About me
I'm a Senior HRBP at Apexon.
I report to the CHRO.
 
# How I want to work
- Bullets, not paragraphs
- Exec-summary up top
- Be direct, no sycophancy
 
# My context
- 12-person People team
- M365 stack
- Workday HRIS
 
# What you can do
# without asking
- Read any file in this folder
- Run /skill claude-code commands
- Edit drafts/
 
# What needs my OK
- Sending anything
- Changing CLAUDE.md
- Touching pii/
1 · ABOUT ME Who you are. Claude uses this to know your seniority, role, and reporting line. Shapes tone.
2 · HOW I WANT TO WORK Your style preferences. Length, format, directness. The "voice" of your CoS comes from here.
3 · MY CONTEXT Your stack and constraints. Tools you use, team size, systems. Prevents generic suggestions.
4 · PERMISSIONS What Claude can do without asking each time. Speeds up workflow. Pair with /permissions.
5 · GUARDRAILS What requires explicit OK. Anything sensitive · external · destructive.

SLASH COMMANDS

The ten you'll actually use

Claude Code has 30+ slash commands. Here are the ten HR leaders reach for daily. Type /help any time to see all.

/init
Bootstrap a starter CLAUDE.md for this folder. Saves 30 minutes of writing one cold.
/memory
View and edit your active CLAUDE.md files. See what Claude is reading.
/clear
Wipe the current conversation. Memory files stay loaded. Start fresh.
/compact
Compress conversation history. Use when sessions get long but you don't want to /clear.
/skill <name>
Run a custom Skill (from the marketplace or your own). e.g., /skill job-description-writer.
/plugin
Manage Skill marketplace plugins. Install Anthropic's official Skills with this.
/cost
Show token usage + dollar cost for this session. Sanity-check before running big workflows.
/permissions
View / edit which tools auto-approve. Tighter for sensitive HR folders.
/review
Code review mode. Use it for reviewing CoS drafts you don't want to land yet.
/exit
Cleanly end the session. CLAUDE.md persists; conversation history doesn't.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Five that save you minutes per session

Daily-driver shortcuts. Memorize three. The rest live in muscle memory after a week.

#
Type # then anything you want Claude to remember in future sessions. Saves to CLAUDE.md automatically.
!
Bash mode. Run any shell command. Useful for !ls, !git status, etc.
@
Mention a file. Claude reads it before responding. e.g., @working-style.md.
Esc
Stop what Claude is doing mid-stream. Two Esc's = jump back in history.
Shift + Tab
Toggle auto-accept edits mode. Speeds up trusted workflows; turn off for sensitive edits.
Ctrl + R
Show full output of the last command (when Claude truncates for readability).

HR WORKFLOWS · COMMON USES

What this unlocks for you

Three real workflows people leaders run in Claude Code that weren't possible in Claude Projects.

USE WHEN

Weekly leadership update, drafted from meeting transcripts

Granola transcribes your week. CoS reads transcripts, applies your tone (from CLAUDE.md), drafts the weekly update. Git commits the draft. Revert if it lands wrong.

$ claude
> Draft this week's CHRO update from granola/2026-06-*.md
> /review
> git commit -m "CHRO update wk23"
USE WHEN

Calibration prep across 20 manager evaluations

Drop 20 evaluation drafts in a folder. CoS reads all, flags inconsistencies in tone/criteria/length, produces a calibration brief. Saves the comp/perf lead 4 hours.

$ claude
> Read all .md in evaluations/q2-2026/
> Flag tone/criteria/length inconsistencies
> Output one calibration brief
USE WHEN

Policy update with full audit trail

Policy in a Git-versioned repo. Every edit shows who changed what and when. Legal can scroll back to "what did this policy say in March?" with one command.

$ git log policies/remote-work.md
$ git diff HEAD~5 policies/remote-work.md

WHERE NEXT

What to do this week

→ COHORT 2 HOME
Back to the 6-week path
→ SKILLS BUILD KIT
20 HR Skills · build your own
→ WEEK 3 DECK
Build the AI that works like you