How to make AI coding tools feel faster

December 12, 2025

Part of the Claude Code in Practice series

Series outline: 1. Why Claude Code is different • 2. How Claude reads your codebase • 3. Writing tasks Claude can complete • 4. Plan mode workflow • 5. Real-world scenarios • 6. MCP and skills • 7. Optimizing for speed • 8. Building your workflow

Claude Code is powerful, but it can feel slow. You ask for something simple and wait 30 seconds for a response. The culprit is usually not Claude itself, but the amount of context it is processing. Large context means slow responses. Understanding how to keep context small is the key to speed.

Why large context equals slow responses

Claude processes tokens, and more tokens means more work. When you ask Claude to read 50 files to make a simple change, it spends most of its time reading and processing context instead of solving your problem. The actual thinking and code generation is fast. The bottleneck is processing unnecessary context.

This ties back to understanding tokens. Every file Claude reads, every search result it processes, every line of code it considers adds to the token count. The model has to process all of it before responding. Keep the context focused and responses get faster.

Strategies for smaller, focused tasks

The easiest way to speed up Claude is to give it smaller, more focused tasks. Instead of “refactor the entire authentication system,” try “refactor the login function in auth.ts.” Claude reads fewer files, processes less context, and responds faster.

This is not about making Claude less capable. It is about being specific. The more precisely you describe what needs attention, the less Claude has to explore. Precision equals speed.

Break large tasks into sequences of small tasks. Each small task is fast. The total time for the sequence might be similar to one large task, but you get feedback faster and can course-correct earlier.

Using .claudeignore effectively

Claude respects .claudeignore files, similar to .gitignore. Use this to exclude files that Claude should never read.

Good candidates for .claudeignore:

Excluding these files means Claude’s searches return fewer irrelevant results and it wastes less time reading files it does not need.

Git diffs versus full file reads

When making changes to existing code, Claude can work from git diffs instead of reading full files. A diff shows just what changed, which is often much smaller than the full file.

This is especially useful for large files. If you are modifying one function in a 500-line file, the diff might be 20 lines. Claude can understand the change from the diff without processing the entire file.

The trade-off is that diffs lack full context. If Claude needs to understand how a function relates to the rest of the file, it needs the full content. Use diffs for focused changes where the surrounding context does not matter.

The convenience versus speed trade-off

Some features are convenient but slow. Asking Claude to “explore the codebase and suggest improvements” is convenient because you do not have to think about what to ask for. But it is slow because Claude has to read broadly and speculatively.

Compare that to “optimize the image loading in ProductGallery.tsx.” This is less convenient because you had to identify the problem yourself. But it is much faster because Claude knows exactly where to look.

The pattern is consistent: convenience comes from letting Claude figure out what to do, but speed comes from you being specific about what needs doing. Choose based on context. If you have time and want broad exploration, go for convenience. If you need a quick fix, be specific.

Token budgets and how to think about them

Claude Code has a token budget for each conversation. When you approach the limit, responses slow down as the system manages context. Being mindful of token usage keeps you within the fast response zone.

Practical token management:

Think of tokens like memory in a program. You have plenty, but that does not mean you should waste it. Keep the working set small and everything runs faster.

Reviewing plans faster

Speed is not just about Claude’s response time. It is also about how quickly you review and approve plans. The faster you review, the faster the overall workflow.

Tips for faster plan review:

You do not need to understand every detail before approving. If the approach is sound and the files are correct, approve and verify the actual code after execution. You can always ask Claude to fix issues in the next iteration.

The practical takeaway

Speed in Claude Code comes from keeping context focused. Be specific about what needs doing. Exclude irrelevant files. Use diffs when full context is not needed. Break large tasks into smaller ones. Review plans quickly and iterate.

These strategies add up. A few seconds saved per interaction becomes minutes saved per session. The workflow gets faster, and Claude Code starts to feel responsive instead of sluggish.

Now let’s bring everything together and talk about building a complete workflow that actually works for your day-to-day development.

Previous: ← MCP and skills | Next: Building your workflow →