Claude Code Project Templates (2026)

Every new project starts with the same boring decisions: TypeScript config, linting rules, testing setup, CI/CD pipelines, directory structure. Templates eliminate these decisions by encoding best practices from thousands of successful projects.

This guide covers the most effective project templates for Claude Code in 2026, organized by tech stack. For an interactive template selector, use the Project Starter tool.

Why Templates Matter for Claude Code

Templates do more than save time. They give Claude Code a consistent starting point that it understands deeply. When Claude sees a standard Next.js structure with a well-formatted CLAUDE.md, it immediately knows:

  • Which build commands to run
  • Where to put new files
  • Which testing patterns to follow
  • How to handle environment variables
  • What conventions the project follows

Without a template, Claude guesses at these decisions, and different guesses across sessions lead to inconsistent code.

TypeScript API Template

For Express, Fastify, or Hono REST APIs:

Project structure

my-api/
  src/
    routes/
    middleware/
    services/
    models/
    utils/
    app.ts
    server.ts
  tests/
    routes/
    services/
    setup.ts
  prisma/
    schema.prisma
  .claude/
    settings.json
  CLAUDE.md
  package.json
  tsconfig.json
  vitest.config.ts
  .env.example
  .gitignore

CLAUDE.md for this template

# TypeScript API
## Stack
Express, TypeScript strict, Prisma, PostgreSQL, Vitest
## Commands
- pnpm dev — start dev server with watch
- pnpm build — compile TypeScript
- pnpm test — run vitest
- pnpm lint — eslint + prettier check
- pnpm db:migrate — run Prisma migrations
- pnpm db:generate — regenerate Prisma client
## Conventions
- Controllers handle HTTP, services handle business logic
- Zod schemas for all request validation
- Custom error classes extend AppError
- All async routes wrapped in asyncHandler
- Tests mirror src/ directory structure

For more CLAUDE.md examples, see the templates guide.

Next.js Full-Stack Template

For full-stack web applications with server components:

Project structure

my-app/
  app/
    (auth)/
      login/page.tsx
      signup/page.tsx
    (dashboard)/
      layout.tsx
      page.tsx
    api/
      route.ts
    layout.tsx
    page.tsx
  components/
    ui/
    forms/
    layouts/
  lib/
    auth.ts
    db.ts
    utils.ts
  tests/
  public/
  .claude/
    settings.json
    commands/
      review.md
      test-this.md
  CLAUDE.md
  package.json
  tailwind.config.ts
  next.config.ts

Key configuration

The Next.js template includes custom Claude commands for common operations:

.claude/commands/review.md:

Review my recent changes for:
1. Server vs client component correctness
2. Data fetching patterns (server components should fetch, client should not)
3. Security (no secrets in client components)
4. Performance (unnecessary re-renders, missing Suspense boundaries)

These custom commands standardize review quality across the team. See hidden commands guide for more examples.

Python FastAPI Template

For Python APIs with modern tooling:

Project structure

my-api/
  app/
    routers/
    models/
    schemas/
    services/
    core/
      config.py
      security.py
    main.py
  tests/
    conftest.py
    test_routers/
    test_services/
  alembic/
    versions/
  .claude/
    settings.json
  CLAUDE.md
  pyproject.toml
  requirements.txt
  .env.example

Permission configuration for Python

{
  "permissions": {
    "allow": [
      "Read", "Write", "Edit", "Glob", "Grep",
      "Bash(python *)",
      "Bash(pip install *)",
      "Bash(pytest *)",
      "Bash(alembic *)",
      "Bash(ruff *)",
      "Bash(mypy *)",
      "Bash(git *)"
    ],
    "deny": [
      "Bash(rm -rf *)",
      "Bash(sudo *)"
    ]
  }
}

Configure permissions interactively with the Permissions Configurator.

Go Service Template

For Go microservices and CLI tools:

Project structure

my-service/
  cmd/
    server/
      main.go
  internal/
    handlers/
    services/
    models/
    middleware/
    config/
  pkg/
    shared utilities
  tests/
  migrations/
  .claude/
    settings.json
  CLAUDE.md
  go.mod
  go.sum
  Makefile
  Dockerfile

Go-specific CLAUDE.md

# Go Service
## Stack
Go 1.22, Chi router, sqlx, PostgreSQL, Docker
## Commands
- make run — start server
- make test — run all tests
- make lint — golangci-lint
- make build — compile binary
- make migrate — run database migrations
## Conventions
- Follow standard Go project layout
- Errors wrap with fmt.Errorf("context: %w", err)
- Context passed as first parameter to all functions
- Table-driven tests
- Interfaces defined by consumers, not providers

Monorepo Template

For projects with multiple packages or services:

Project structure

my-monorepo/
  apps/
    web/
    api/
    mobile/
  packages/
    shared/
    ui/
    config/
  .claude/
    settings.json
    commands/
      test-affected.md
  CLAUDE.md
  pnpm-workspace.yaml
  turbo.json
  package.json

See the monorepo setup guide for detailed monorepo configuration with Claude Code.

Try It Yourself

The Project Starter makes template selection easy. Tell it your tech stack, project type, and team size, and it generates a complete project structure with:

  • All configuration files pre-built
  • CLAUDE.md tailored to your stack
  • Permission settings appropriate for your tools
  • Custom commands for common workflows
  • .gitignore with comprehensive exclusions

This is significantly faster than assembling a template manually because the tool has been trained on thousands of successful project configurations.

Template Customization Tips

  1. Start from a template, then customize — Templates are starting points, not final states
  2. Update CLAUDE.md as you go — Add conventions as they emerge during development
  3. Commit .claude/ to the repo — Team members get consistent configuration
  4. Add custom commands for repeated tasks — Review, test, deploy, etc.
  5. Trim unused template files — Do not keep placeholder files that add confusion

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use Claude’s templates or framework-official starters?

Use official starters for the base scaffold (create-next-app, cargo init), then layer Claude’s CLAUDE.md and settings on top. This gives you framework best practices plus Claude Code optimization.

How often should I update project templates?

Review templates quarterly. Framework updates, new linting rules, and Claude Code feature additions may require template changes. Keep a changelog of template modifications.

Can I share templates across teams?

Yes. Publish templates as git repositories or npm packages. Teams clone the template repo and customize for their specific needs. The .claude directory travels with the template.

Do templates work with the Project Starter tool?

The Project Starter generates configurations similar to these templates but customized to your specific inputs. Think of it as a template generator rather than a fixed template.