Claude Code Routines are persistent, reusable instruction sets you define once and invoke by name across any project. Instead of re-explaining your conventions every session, you write them down once — and Claude runs them without being asked twice.

The problem they solve

Every project has invisible rules. Naming conventions. File organization patterns. How you want error states handled. What your commit message format looks like.

Without routines, you explain these at the start of every session. Sometimes you forget. Claude forgets too — it starts fresh each time. The result is drift: inconsistency creeps in at exactly the moments you're moving fast.

What a routine looks like

A routine is a markdown file in your project's `.claude/` directory. The format is simple:

---
name: new-component
description: Create a new React component with tests
---

1. Create the component file in src/components/
2. Follow the naming convention: PascalCase
3. Export as named function (not default)
4. Create a matching .test.tsx file
5. Run the test suite before reporting done

You invoke it in any Claude Code session: `/new-component`. Claude reads the routine and executes it exactly.

Why this matters for agency work

At Kagadmodyaa, we work across multiple client projects simultaneously. Each has its own conventions, stack, and standards. Routines let us:

- Onboard a new project in one session by writing its conventions down

- Context-switch between projects without re-explaining anything

- Ship consistently, even on Friday afternoons

The consistency gain is the real win. Not speed — consistency.

The compound effect

Routines compound over time. The first week, you write five routines. The second week, you have five working shortcuts. By month two, you have twenty — covering 80% of the repetitive judgment calls in your workflow.

The alternative is re-explaining the same things to Claude in every session. That's not AI-assisted development. That's just a very expensive autocomplete.

Getting started

Start with one routine. Pick the thing you explain to Claude most often. Write it down. Invoke it once to verify it works. Then move to the next.

The barrier is lower than it looks. Most routines are ten lines. The payoff starts on the first invocation.