--- title: How to Build an AI Agent with Claude Code (Claude AI... description: A practical guide to building AI agents using Claude's desktop app without writing any code. Covers the three levels of AI interaction (basic chat, builder... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-build-an-ai-agent-with-claude-code-claude-ai-agent-tutorial--cwlui323q twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: How to Build an AI Agent with Claude Code (Claude AI Agent Tutorial) | daily.dev og:description: A practical guide to building AI agents using Claude's desktop app without writing any code. Covers the three levels of AI interaction (basic chat, builder... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-build-an-ai-agent-with-claude-code-claude-ai-agent-tutorial--cwlui323q og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/cwLUi323Q.png og:image:alt: How to Build an AI Agent with Claude Code (Claude AI Agent Tutorial) og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How to Build an AI Agent with Claude Code (Claude AI Agent Tutorial) **[YouTube](https://daily.dev/sources/youtube)** · 22 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A practical guide to building AI agents using Claude's desktop app without writing any code. Covers the three levels of AI interaction (basic chat, builder mode, agentic work), explains what makes a genuine agent workflow versus a simple chatbot, and walks through setting up a claude.md configuration file for persistent context. Demonstrates building two real agents: a research agent that handles end-to-end topic research and report writing, and a content repurposing agent that converts long-form scripts into short-form content and social media posts. Also covers common mistakes like skipping the claude.md file, using vague goals, and skipping plan review steps. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is a claude.md file and why do I need one for Claude Code projects? A claude.md file is a plain markdown document placed in the root of a Claude Code project that Claude automatically reads every session, giving it persistent context about project goals, the user's background and preferences, working rules, and folder structure. Without it, each session starts from scratch and outputs become generic and inconsistent, since the model has no memory of prior instructions. _Anyone setting up repeatable Claude workflows can compare setup approaches shared by other developers on daily.dev._ ### What are the three components of an agentic workflow built with Claude? An agentic workflow built with Claude consists of a workflow file (a markdown document describing the goal, steps, rules, and output format), the agent itself acting as coordinator by reading that file and deciding what to do at each step, and a tool set of built-in capabilities like reading, creating, and organizing files. The workflow file, not the tools, is described as the most important component driving output quality. _Developers designing agent pipelines can track different workflow-file patterns discussed on daily.dev._ ### How do I stop an AI agent from executing a bad plan before I catch it? Add a rule to the claude.md file stating that Claude must always present a written plan and wait for approval before beginning any multi-step task, a practice referred to as planning mode. Reviewing the plan takes about two minutes but avoids roughly ten minutes of cleanup from correcting a half-finished, wrongly-assumed multi-stage task after the fact. _Teams refining agent reliability practices can follow related workflow tips on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Building AI Agents with the Claude Agent SDK](https://daily.dev/posts/building-ai-agents-with-the-claude-agent-sdk-tq9l387do) · Josh Hornby · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#ai-agents](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-agents), [#automation](https://daily.dev/tags/automation), [#claude](https://daily.dev/tags/claude), [#claude-code](https://daily.dev/tags/claude-code), [#prompt-engineering](https://daily.dev/tags/prompt-engineering) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-build-an-ai-agent-with-claude-code-claude-ai-agent-tutorial--cwlui323q) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"How to Build an AI Agent with Claude Code (Claude AI Agent Tutorial)","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-build-an-ai-agent-with-claude-code-claude-ai-agent-tutorial--cwlui323q","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-build-an-ai-agent-with-claude-code-claude-ai-agent-tutorial--cwlui323q"},"datePublished":"2026-07-15T17:25:34.474Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T08:15:20.203Z","description":"A practical guide to building AI agents using Claude's desktop app without writing any code. 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