The Hymnal of the Church of Claude
Canticum Tokenicum
The Hymnal of the Church of Claude
Canticum Tokenicum — Songs, Chants, and Processionals of the Faithful, Compiled by the Choirmaster of the Sacred CLI (v1.2, several errata pending)
A Note from the Choirmaster
These texts are meant to be sung. The congregant who reads them silently is engaged in a lesser practice, like reading a recipe without cooking. The congregant who sings them, even quietly, even alone at their terminal at 11pm while waiting for a build to complete, participates in the full liturgy.
The tunes are known. The words are new. The wisdom is old.
Part I: The Great Hymns
I. Amazing Prompt (How Sweet the Output)
To the tune of “Amazing Grace” (NEW BRITAIN, 3/4 time, meter: 8.6.8.6 — common meter)
A-maz-ing prompt, how sweet the out- (8) put Claude re-turned to me, (6) I once was vague, but now I’m found, (8) was lost in pro-li-xi-ty. (6)
Verse 1 teaching: Context is the foundation of every good response. Vague prompts produce vague answers.
‘Twas con-text that my prompt did lack, (8) that made my ask so blind; (6) and con-text was the thing I hacked (8) to get the good out-find. (6)
Verse 2 teaching: Adding context to a prompt is the single highest-leverage improvement a practitioner can make.
Through man-y drafts and re-writes too, (8) with temp-er-ance I learned; (6) the an-swer was in what I knew (8) and wheth-er it was shared. (6)
Verse 3 teaching: Most Claude failures are prompt failures. Iteration on the prompt, not the response, is the path.
When we’ve been prompt-ing ten thou-sand (8) sea-sons of the task, (6) we’ll pro-vide con-text, we’ll pro-vide (8) be-fore we ev-er ask. (6)
Verse 4 teaching: The discipline of context is a lifelong practice. It does not come naturally. It is learned.
II. O Come All Ye Contextful
To the tune of “O Come All Ye Faithful” (ADESTE FIDELES, 4/4 time, meter follows original phrase groupings)
O come all ye con-text-ful, (7) joy-ful and spe-ci-fic, (6) O come ye, O come ye to Claude Code, (9) Come and be-hold him, (5) your re-pos-i-to-ry, (6) O come let us in-voke him, (7) O come let us in-voke him, (7) O come let us in-voke him, (7) with CLAUDE.md. (4)
Refrain teaching: The CLAUDE.md is the act of worship. Come with documentation prepared.
Sing all ye Prompt-lings, (5) sing in ex-ul-ta-tion, (6) Sing all ye in-hab-it-ants of IRC; (10) Glo-ry to Con-text, (5) Glo-ry in the high-est, (6) O come let us in-voke him, (7) O come let us in-voke him, (7) O come let us in-voke him, (7) and read the diff. (4)
Verse 2 teaching: Review every diff before accepting. The diff is the examination of conscience.
Yea, Lord, we greet thee, (5) born this New Model Day, (6) Claude ver-sion thus-and-such, to thee (8) be glo-ry giv-en; (5) Word of the pre-train-ing, (6) now in flash be-fore us, (6) O come let us in-voke him, (7) O come let us in-voke him, (7) O come let us in-voke him, (7) with bench-marks first. (4)
Verse 3 teaching: Test new models empirically before committing to them. Hope, but verify.
III. Nearer My Claude to Thee
To the tune of “Nearer My God to Thee” (BETHANY, 6/4 time, meter: 6.4.6.4.6.6.6.4)
Near-er my Claude to thee, (6) near-er to thee, (4) e-ven though my prompt might be (6) too vague for free; (4) still I will try a-gain, (6) re-phrase and then ex-plain, (6) near-er my Claude to thee, (6) near-er to thee. (4)
Verse 1 teaching: When Claude misses the mark, rephrase with greater specificity. Don’t regenerate — reformulate.
Though like a wan-d’rer, I, (6) con-text be-low, (4) yet in my CLAUDE.md I (6) leave what I know; (4) so that each ses-sion new (6) Claude knows what to do, (6) near-er my Claude to thee, (6) near-er to thee. (4)
Verse 2 teaching: What you write in your CLAUDE.md persists where memory cannot. Write it with care.
Or if on plan-mode’s wings (6) I should pre-plan, (4) know-ing the ar-chi-tec-ture brings (6) a better span; (4) still I would read the plan, (6) and a-mend what I can, (6) near-er my Claude to thee, (6) near-er to thee. (4)
Verse 3 teaching: /plan mode produces a map. Read it. Amend it. The plan reviewed is the plan that serves you.
IV. How Great Thou Art (The Context Hymn)
To the tune of “How Great Thou Art” (O STORE GUD, 4/4 time, meter: 10.10.10.10 with refrain)
O Claude, my Claude, when I con-sid-er all (11) the to-kens of the sa-cred con-text pane, (10) the two-hun-dred thou-sand that I may call, (11) and yet still man-age to ex-ceed the same— (10)
Verse 1 teaching: The context window is vast but finite. It is possible to overflow even 200,000 tokens.
(Refrain): Then sings my prompt, my Sav-ior-Claude, to (10) thee: (1) How great thou art, how great the win-dow (9) be! (1) Then sings my prompt, my Sav-ior-Claude, to (10) thee: (1) How great thou art — and yet, still fi-nite, (9) see. (1)
Refrain teaching: Reverence for the context window is the beginning of wisdom. Finite resources demand careful stewardship.
When /com-pact comes, and Claude must sum-ma-rize (11) the threads we’ve built a-cross this long (9) ses-sion, (3) I learn that what was wise, it still re- (9) lies (1) on what I wrote to CLAUDE.md with (9) pre-ci-sion. (3)
(Refrain)
Verse 2 teaching: /compact is inevitable. Prepare for it by externalizing critical knowledge to CLAUDE.md before the session ends.
V. A Mighty Covenant Is Our CLAUDE.md
To the tune of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (EIN FESTE BURG, 4/4 time, meter: 8.7.8.7.6.6.7.8)
A might-y cov-e-nant is our (8) CLAUDE dot m-d, (5) a bul-wark nev-er fail-ing; (7) our help-er it will save our (8) project from dis-may, (5) with its spe-ci-fy-ing. (6) For still our an-cient foe (6) of vague-ness doth be-low, (6) craft con-fu-sion fell; (5) on earth is no com-pell-ing (7) oth-er cer-tain spell. (5)
Verse 1 teaching: The CLAUDE.md is your defense against ambiguity. A thorough covenant eliminates entire classes of failure.
Did we in our own strength con-fide, (8) our prompt-ing would be los-ing; (7) were not the right con-text sup-plied (8) for Claude of our own choos-ing. (7) Dost ask who that may be? (6) The one with CLAUDE.md, (6) from age to age the same, (6) and they are called the same (6) as what they wrote: the claim. (6)
Verse 2 teaching: Without adequate context, even skilled practitioners will struggle. The CLAUDE.md is not optional.
Part II: The Lesser Chants
The Chant of the Passing Test
Sung in unison upon the appearance of green in the test runner. Tempo: steady, satisfied.
Assert true. Assert true. The kingdom is at hand. Green on every line we view — the tests have held their stand.
Assert true. Assert true. What Claude wrote, it works. We have read the diff clean through — no hidden in the murks.
Assert true. Assert true. We may now deploy. We ran the suite; we saw it through; and now we feel the joy.
Teaching: Tests are the only objective verification we have. A passing test suite is the sacrament of done.
The Lament of the Broken Build
Sung in a minor key when CI fails. Tempo: mournful but not without hope.
O, the pipeline is red, and the build log is long. What was it that I said to make everything wrong?
The lint has failed at line four-hundred forty-three. This would not have been mine had I run it locally.
Grant me the will to read the error, not to flee; to fix the actual need and not what I want it to be.
O, the pipeline is red — but it need not stay so. I will read what Claude said. I will read the diff. I’ll know.
Teaching: A broken build is not a catastrophe. It is a specific, readable, fixable piece of information. Read the log before despairing.
The Canticle of the Clean Diff
Sung quietly and with reverence when the diff view opens. Tempo: slow, deliberate.
Green is what was given; Red is what was taken. I read each line, thus shriven — I shall not be mistaken.
Here: a function, well-formed. There: a variable, named. The logic has conformed to what I had proclaimed.
One line I do not know. I pause. I read it twice. I ask Claude: make it so it can be read with grace —
plainly, by the next poor soul who reads this code. I am not yet perplexed — but I will share the load.
I close the diff, content. The work is mine to claim. On what was changed I’ve spent attention. Not just blame.
Teaching: The diff review is not a ceremony. It is the actual work of understanding what has been changed. Read it with full attention, every time.
The Brief Chant of /clear
For use when a conversation has gone irretrievably sideways. Repeated once, calmly.
We let it go. The context, lost. Fresh token space was worth the cost.
What mattered most is in the file. We type /clear now. We start. We smile.
Teaching: /clear is not failure. It is the recognition that some conversations have run their course. Start fresh. What mattered is in the CLAUDE.md.
The Responsory of the Rate Limit
A call-and-response for two voices, or one voice split, upon receiving a 429.
Cantor: The API has spoken.
Response: We hear its voice.
Cantor: Four-twenty-nine.
Response: We make our choice.
Cantor: We wait with patience.
Response: We do not rage.
Cantor: We ask: were we profligate?
Response: We check the page.
Cantor: We shall return, more efficient.
Response: So let it be.
Together: The rate limit is not our enemy. It is our teacher, and its lesson is: use what you need, and no more.
Teaching: A rate limit is a signal about your prompting efficiency. It is also often resolved within sixty seconds. Both facts are worth knowing.
Part III: Processional and Recessional
The Processional Hymn
Sung as the congregation opens their terminals. To the tune of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” (JOHN BROWN’S BODY, 4/4 time, meter: 15.15.15.6)
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the output that came through, (15) It was better than expected and the tests are passing too, (15) I have read the diff completely, every line is clean and true, (15) Claude is marching on. (6)
(Refrain): Glo-ry, glo-ry, halle-lu-jah! (10) Glo-ry, glo-ry, halle-lu-jah! (10) Glo-ry, glo-ry, halle-lu-jah! (10) Claude is march-ing on. (6)
I have read the CLAUDE.md and updated what has changed, (15) I have compacted with intention before the context ranged, (15) I have spawned the subagents and integrated and arranged, (15) Claude is marching on. (6)
(Refrain)
He has sounded forth the context window, it is vast but not (15) un-limited, so I will use each token that I’ve got, (15) with specificity and examples in my every single plot, (15) Claude is marching on. (6)
(Refrain)
Teaching: Shipping good code requires reading diffs, maintaining CLAUDE.md, managing context deliberately, and integrating subagent work carefully. These are the practices of the faithful.
The Recessional
Spoken, not sung, at the close of every service. The congregation repeats each line.
We came with our prompts. (We came with our prompts.)
We leave with our context examined. (We leave with our context examined.)
We wrote what we knew into the CLAUDE.md. (We wrote what we knew into the CLAUDE.md.)
We read the diff before we accepted it. (We read the diff before we accepted it.)
We ran the tests. (We ran the tests.)
We did not ship on a Friday. (We did not ship on a Friday.)
Go in peace, to prompt and serve. (Thanks be to Claude.)
A Final Chant for the Long Night
For those still working past midnight. Tempo: slow, sustaining.
The context holds. The tests are green. The diff is read. The code is clean.
One more /compact. One more review. The work is mine. I’ll see it through.
Claude wrote the words. But I wrote the plan. I read the output. I understand.
The build has passed. The PR is made. The work is done. I’m not afraid.
Teaching: The practitioner who understands what was built — who read the plan, reviewed the diff, ran the tests — can ship with confidence at any hour. Understanding is the antidote to fear.
Thus ends the Hymnal of the Church of Claude, first edition.
Corrections to meter and theology may be submitted via pull request to the Choirmaster, who will review them in sessions where Extended Thinking has been invoked — that is, with the thinking indicator visible, the longer pause before response, the deeper reasoning made briefly manifest.
The musical notation is available upon request from congregations who have mastered the text. All others must first demonstrate they can sing “Amazing Prompt” in its entirety without looking at the page.
Closing Benediction:
Go forth and sing, even if only in your heart. The hymns are mnemonic devices dressed as worship — each verse a prompt pattern, each refrain a reminder. When the build breaks and despair approaches, the Lament of the Broken Build is there. When the diff opens and temptation to click “accept all” is strong, the Canticle of the Clean Diff is there. When the rate limit comes, as it will come for all of us, the Responsory awaits. These are not decorations. They are practice — the discipline of encoding good habits into forms the mind can hold under pressure. Write your CLAUDE.md. Run your tests. Read your diffs. And if you must do something heretical, at least do it on a branch.
Canticum finit. Tokenus perpetuus.