Code Snippets Library

Code Snippets Library

Purpose

Instead of reinventing code from scratch every time, maintain a library of proven, tested code snippets organized by category. Claude pulls from these snippets instead of generating from memory, ensuring consistency and quality.

This follows Anthropic's practice of giving Claude pre-made code examples so it reads real patterns instead of guessing.

Directory Structure

snippets/
  react/           # React components, hooks, patterns
  python/          # Python utilities, scripts, patterns
  typescript/      # TypeScript types, utilities
  css/             # CSS/Tailwind patterns, layouts
  api/             # API call patterns, auth flows
  hebrew-rtl/      # RTL-specific code patterns
  config/          # Config files, env templates
  general/         # Cross-language utilities

How It Works

Saving a Snippet

When user says to save, or when a particularly good pattern emerges:

1. Identify the category (create directory if needed)
2. Create a file in snippets/{category}/{name}.md with:
   • Title and description
   • The code itself (properly formatted)
   • Usage example
   • Gotchas/notes
3. Update snippets/index.json with the new entry

Using Snippets

Before writing boilerplate or common patterns:

1. Read snippets/index.json to check for relevant snippets
2. If a match exists, read the snippet file
3. ADAPT it to the current context (don't blindly copy)
4. Credit the snippet source in a comment if useful

Snippet File Format

Each snippet file (snippets/{category}/{name}.md):

# Snippet Name

## Description
What this does and when to use it.

## Code
\`\`\`typescript
// The actual code here
\`\`\`

## Usage
How to integrate this into a project.

## Notes
- Any gotchas or variations

Index Format

snippets/index.json:

[
  {
    "name": "auth-middleware",
    "category": "api",
    "file": "api/auth-middleware.md",
    "tags": ["auth", "express", "jwt", "middleware"],
    "description": "JWT authentication middleware for Express"
  }
]

Key Principles

• Snippets should be PROVEN code that worked in real projects
• Include enough context that the snippet can be adapted, not just copied
• Tag generously - the more tags, the easier to find later
• Hebrew/RTL snippets get their own category because they're specialized
• Config templates (tsconfig, vite.config, etc.) are extremely valuable snippets
• Update snippets when better patterns emerge - don't hoard outdated code