Claude Code for Android Development: Setup and CLAUDE.md That Actually Helps

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Why Claude Code Is Worth Setting Up Properly for Android

If you’ve tried using Claude Code for Android development without any configuration, you’ve probably found it helpful but inconsistent. It might suggest Retrofit when your project uses Ktor, generate Java when you want Kotlin, or miss your architectural conventions entirely. The difference between a generic AI assistant and one that feels like it actually knows your codebase comes down to one file: CLAUDE.md. Getting Claude Code set up properly for Android takes about twenty minutes and pays back every session after that.

AI assistant concept with code on screen
A well-configured Claude Code setup feels less like an AI tool and more like a senior teammate who already knows your project.

Installing Claude Code

Claude Code runs as a CLI tool. If you haven’t installed it yet, you need Node.js 18+ and then run:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Once installed, run claude from your Android project root. Claude Code automatically picks up the project structure, your Git history, and any CLAUDE.md files it finds. It searches from the current directory up to your home directory, so you can have a global CLAUDE.md with your general preferences and a project-level one with project-specific context.

Writing a CLAUDE.md That Works for Android

The CLAUDE.md file is plain Markdown that Claude Code reads at the start of every session. Think of it as the onboarding document you’d write for a new developer joining the project. The more specific and opinionated it is, the better Claude Code performs. Here’s a solid starting template for a modern Android project:

# Project: MyApp

## Architecture
- Pattern: MVVM + Clean Architecture
- UI layer: Jetpack Compose
- State management: StateFlow + UiState sealed class per screen
- DI: Hilt (constructor injection everywhere, no field injection)
- Navigation: Compose Navigation with a sealed Routes object

## Libraries
- Networking: Ktor Client + kotlinx.serialization (NOT Retrofit)
- Database: Room with suspend DAOs
- Images: Coil 3
- Testing: JUnit 5, MockK, Turbine (for Flow testing)

## Conventions
- One ViewModel per screen, named {Screen}ViewModel
- UseCases are single-method classes: operator fun invoke()
- Repository interfaces in domain/, implementations in data/
- Never use LiveData — always StateFlow or SharedFlow
- All coroutines launched from viewModelScope or a Hilt-provided scope
- No !! operator anywhere in production code

## Module structure
app/ :feature:home :feature:settings :core:network :core:database :core:ui

## Common commands
- Build: ./gradlew assembleDebug
- Test: ./gradlew testDebug
- Lint: ./gradlew lintDebug

Every line here is context that Claude Code uses to calibrate its suggestions. Specify your DI framework, your networking library, your testing libraries — anything that has a popular alternative it might otherwise reach for. And don’t forget that you can always ask Claude to help you do that and from time to time it is a good approach to even ask it to do some cleanup/compression to keep it tidy.

Key Sections to Get Right

Architecture and state management are the highest-value entries. If you don’t specify them, Claude Code will default to safe, generic patterns that might not match your codebase. Explicitly naming your UiState pattern, your StateFlow conventions, and your coroutine scoping rules means generated code fits in without refactoring.

Library choices prevent the most common frustration: getting a perfectly written implementation that uses the wrong library. One line — Networking: Ktor Client (NOT Retrofit) — eliminates an entire class of useless suggestions.

Module structure helps Claude Code understand where new files should live. When you ask it to add a feature, it will create files in the right module rather than dumping everything into app/.

Useful Slash Commands Out of the Box

Once Claude Code is running, a few commands are especially useful for Android work:

  • /init — generates a starter CLAUDE.md by scanning your project. Run this first, then edit the output to add your specific conventions.
  • /review — reviews staged or specified files for bugs, style issues, and Android-specific anti-patterns. Pair this with git add -p before committing.
  • /compact — summarises the conversation so far and continues in a fresh context window. Useful for long sessions where you’ve been building up a feature.
  • /memory — shows you what Claude Code currently has loaded from your CLAUDE.md files, so you can verify your configuration is actually being read.

One More Tip: Reference Files Directly

For patterns you repeat often, you can reference existing files in your CLAUDE.md rather than describing the pattern in prose:

## Patterns
When creating a new screen, follow the exact structure in:
- :feature:home/HomeScreen.kt (Compose UI)
- :feature:home/HomeViewModel.kt (ViewModel + UiState)
- :feature:home/HomeUseCase.kt (single-method UseCase)

Claude Code will read those files when relevant and use them as living examples rather than relying on your prose description alone. It’s the closest thing to code-level documentation that actually stays up to date.

Summary

Setting up Claude Code for Android development is mostly about writing a good CLAUDE.md. Install the CLI, run /init to generate a baseline, then spend fifteen minutes editing it to reflect your actual architecture, libraries, and conventions. From that point on, every suggestion Claude Code makes is grounded in your project’s reality rather than generic Android defaults.

This post was written by a human with the help of Claude, an AI assistant by Anthropic.

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