The Ascent · Learn

Level 3½ · The Workshop — IDE

Claude Code in your editor

The editor is the workshop where the files live. Judge any AI in it by two dials: what it can see, and what it can touch.

The lineNo coding needed. The one real skill — reading a change before you accept it — anyone can learn.

15 screens ≈ 15 min 10 floors to climb

The window Two dials Feel all three The panel GitHub

my-project · Visual Studio Code

Explorer

MY-PROJECT
.claude
inputs
working
outputs
AGENTS.md
CLAUDE.md

Claude Code

You: Compare the drafts in @inputs on scope, cost and risks. Save a table to outputs/.
- Read 4 files in inputs/
- Compared scope, cost, risks
- Saved outputs/comparison.md

Ask Claude to…Mode: Manual

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · The window

01 The interface

The VS Code window, mapped

1
Activity bar
Switch views: Explorer, Search, Source Control, Extensions, Claude.
2
Explorer
The folder you opened and every file in it.
3
Editor
Files open here as tabs.
4
Claude Code
Your conversation with Claude. Opens from the spark icon.
5
Panel
Terminal, Problems, Output.
6
Status bar
File details; the spark item opens Claude.

my-project

Explorer

MY-PROJECT
.claude
inputs
working
outputs
AGENTS.md
CLAUDE.md

2

OUTLINETIMELINE

AGENTS.mdCLAUDE.md

MY-PROJECTAGENTS.md

1# AGENTS.md — my-project2 3## House style4- Plain English, short sentences.35- Dates as 2 October 2026.6- Cite the source file for every number.7 8## Folders9- inputs/   read-only sources10- outputs/  finished work

ProblemsOutputTerminal

PS C:\…\my-project> 5

Claude Code

You: What are the house rules for this project?
Your AGENTS.md says:
- Plain English, short sentences
- Dates as 2 October 2026
- Finished work goes in outputs/

4

Ask Claude to…

Mode: Manual@/Send

Remote0 0Ln 4, Col 22UTF-8CRLFMarkdownClaude Code6

Simplified mock-up · VS Code

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · Two dials

02 Rate any editor AI

Judge it by what it sees and touches

Three kinds of AI live in an editor — only the agent is Claude Code. Judge each by its reach.

Ghost text

A completion tool, e.g. Copilot

Sees

The lines around your cursor

Touches

Nothing — you press Tab

Your job

Accept the boring; type the important

Ask it

Nothing — you just type

Chat assistant

Chat-only: paste in, paste out

Sees

Only what you paste in

Touches

Nothing — you paste

Your job

Read it like any Level 1 answer

Ask it

“What does this formula do?”

Agent

Claude Code does the job

Sees

The whole project

Touches

Files and commands

Your job

Read every diff before you accept

Ask it

“Update every table in outputs/”

Reach for it when

You know what to writeFaster typing

Explain or draft thisOne answer

Change it across filesA whole job

More touch means more to check. The agent can change ten files at once — so you read ten diffs.

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · Feel all three

03 Try it

Feel the three reaches in one editor

A toy editor — nothing is real. Accept a ghost hint (a completion tool), ask a chat-only assistant about a line, then run the agent (Claude Code) and read its diff.

shop/prices.jsREADME.md

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · Open a folder

04 Golden rule

Always open a folder, not a file

Pick the folder that holds the whole job — not one file, and not your whole drive.

Boundary
Claude writes only inside this folder unless you allow more.
Briefing
Each session starts by reading the folder’s AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md.
History
Chats are kept per folder. Reopen it to find them.

Step 01
Open Folder…
File › Open Folder…
- or Ctrl+K then Ctrl+O
Step 02

Pick the job
The folder with inputs/ working/ outputs/
Step 03
Trust it
Choose Yes
- Claude won’t run in Restricted Mode

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · The panel

05 How to use it

Inside the Claude panel

1
Session history
Search and reopen past chats.
2
Selection becomes a reference
Alt+K (Mac: Option+K) adds it as an @-reference with line numbers.
3
The diff
Red out, green in. Accept or reject each change.
4
Mode indicator
Shows how much Claude asks first; click to switch.

Claude Code1

You: @summary.md#5-10 Add a Risks section after these lines. Three points, plain English.2
Read summary.md
I’ll add a Risks section after line 10. Review the change:

outputs/summary.md+4−1

−Removed: Risks: to follow.+Added: ## Risks+Added: 1. Supplier lead time may slip two weeks+Added: 2. Budget sign-off not yet confirmed+Added: 3. One key reviewer is away in March

Reject3Accept

Ask Claude to…

Mode: Manual4@/Send

Simplified mock-up · example conversation

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · Four modes

06 Choose how much Claude asks

Start in Manual, loosen later

The mode indicator under the prompt box sets how often Claude checks with you before it acts. Labels vary by version.

Manual — start here
Asks before every edit. Best while you learn.
Plan
Shows its plan first. You comment, then approve.
Edit automatically
Edits without asking. For clear, low-risk jobs.
Auto
A safety check reviews most actions instead of asking you.

Claude Code

You: Tidy outputs/ and rename the files by date.
Here’s my plan — approve to start:
- List the 9 files in outputs/
- Rename to YYYY-MM-DD-name.md
- Leave inputs/ untouched

Ask Claude to…

Mode: Plan@/Send

Simplified mock-up · Plan mode

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · A session

07 How to use it

A working session in five steps

The same loop every time: brief → work → verify.

Step 01

Open the folder
The one that holds the whole job.
Step 02
Brief it
What to do, which files, where it goes.
- @inputs/
- outputs/
Step 03

Plan big jobs
Plan mode: comment on the plan, then approve.
Step 04

Review each diff
In Manual, accept or reject every change.
Step 05

Check the output
Open the file itself; ask for fixes.

A good brief says

What to do
Which files (@)
Where the output goes
What to tell you

Example brief: “Compare the drafts in @inputs/ on scope, cost and risks. Save a table to outputs/, then list the top three risks here.”

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · Shortcuts

08 Find your way

Six shortcuts for day one

Learn these six and you’ll rarely open a menu. Defaults shown for Windows and Linux.

Mac: most use Cmd for Ctrl and Option for Alt · Terminal stays Ctrl+`

If you remember one shortcut
Ctrl + Shift + P
Command Palette
Type what you want instead of hunting through menus.
>open
- File: Open Folder…Ctrl+KCtrl+O
- Preferences: Open Settings (UI)Ctrl+,
Ctrl + P

Quick Open
Jump to any file by name.
Ctrl + Shift + E

Explorer
Show the folder’s files.
Ctrl + Shift + X

Extensions
Find and install add-ons.
Ctrl + `below Esc

Terminal
A command line, already in your folder.
Alt + K

Add to Claude
Sends your selection as an @-reference.

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · GitHub

09 The shared save

GitHub is the shared save

Two copies of one project: yours and the cloud’s. Commit, push, have a teammate push, then pull.

Your laptop

GitHub

Commit

Save a version on your laptop.

Push

Upload your versions to GitHub.

Pull

Download what others pushed.

Merge

Combine two people’s changes.

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · Where chats live

10 What’s shared

Files travel, chats stay home

Files travel
Anything in the folder syncs — via GitHub or a shared drive.
Chats stay
Your history lives on your machine, one per folder.
So write it down
Put decisions in a file, not a chat.

Shared projectShared · everyone with access

GitHub or a shared drive

AGENTS.md
outputs/

sync
Your machine
- Project folderSynced
- Chat historyPrivate
  This machine only
sync
A colleague’s machine
- Project folderSynced
- Chat historyPrivate
  This machine only

Each folder, on each machine, keeps its own history.

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · Do it now

11 Do it now

Four small steps, in the workshop

Step 1 of 4

Play the model IDE

Feel three reaches in 30 seconds.

You should see: Three AIs, three reaches — each needs a different check.

In Feel all three above: accept a ghost hint (Tab), ask the chat about a line, then run the agent and read its diff.
Step 2 of 4

Play the GitHub board

Watch work travel between your laptop and the cloud.

You should see: Push, pull and merge, made concrete.

In GitHub above: commit, push, have a teammate push, then pull to merge.
Step 3 of 4

Install Claude Code

The real thing is five minutes.

You should see: A Claude panel inside your editor.

VS Code: Extensions view → search “Claude Code” → check the publisher is Anthropic → install and sign in. JetBrains: Settings › Plugins → same search. No project? A folder with one file is enough.
Step 4 of 4

Take one real diff

Brief → work → verify: the whole craft.

You should see: Red lines out, green in — and you, reading before you accept.
paste into Claude
```
Make one small change to this file: [say what]. Show it as a diff and explain each edit in one line before I accept.
```
Open Claude

Steps 1–2 play right here; 3–4 need VS Code on a computer. Each step you mark done climbs a floor.

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · Right mode?

12 Decide

Which reach does this moment need?

You’re in the editor. What does the moment call for?

Pick the closest match — you’ll get a verdict.

The AscentL3½ · The Workshop · Capstone

13 Capstone

The whole workshop in one prompt

Install Claude Code and open a folder — a scratch one is fine.
Fill the brackets and paste this into the Claude panel.
Do each exercise, and read every diff before you accept.

First run? Use a scratch folder or a copy — never your only copy of real work.

the capstone prompt

You're my IDE tutor. I'm [engineer / analyst / curious non-coder]. Teach me the three kinds of editor AI — ghost-text completion (from tools like Copilot), a chat-only assistant, and the Claude Code agent — one at a time: what each sees, what each touches, and when to reach for it. Then set me one tiny exercise per mode using [my project / a scratch folder], and finish by teaching me to read a diff before accepting it.

Open Claude

The Ascent · Learn

Wrap-up · check yourself

You’ve got the Workshop

Self-check0 / 4

I can place ghost text, chat and the agent on the see/touch dials.02
I ran the agent and read a diff before accepting it.03
I can say what commit, push, pull and merge each do.09
I know why the agent’s wider touch makes me verify harder.02

Remember

Two dials: what it sees, what it touches. Judge reach, not IQ.

Open a folder — it’s the boundary, the briefing and the history.

Read every diff before you accept. Start in Manual.

Files are shared, chats are not. Write decisions down.

You’re ready when grey text feels like a junior’s guess, not magic — and your thumb waits over accept until your eyes have walked the diff.

Next · Level 4: Orchestrate The overview

Claude Code in your editor

The VS Code window, mapped

Activity bar

Explorer

Editor

Claude Code

Panel

Status bar

Judge it by what it sees and touches

Feel the three reaches in one editor

Always open a folder, not a file

Boundary

Briefing

History

Open Folder…

Pick the job

Trust it

Inside the Claude panel

Session history

Selection becomes a reference

The diff

Mode indicator

Start in Manual, loosen later

Manual — start here

Plan

Edit automatically

Auto

A working session in five steps

Open the folder

Brief it

Plan big jobs

Review each diff

Check the output

Six shortcuts for day one

Command Palette

Quick Open

Explorer

Extensions

Terminal

Add to Claude

GitHub is the shared save

Commit

Push

Pull

Merge

Files travel, chats stay home

Files travel

Chats stay

So write it down

Four small steps, in the workshop

Play the model IDE

Play the GitHub board

Install Claude Code

Take one real diff

Which reach does this moment need?

The whole workshop in one prompt

You’ve got the Workshop