Claude code 101 - automate everything! Hooks + MCP Servers in Claude Code

Key Takeaways

So, Claude Code is great at coding, right? But what if you could make it automatically lint your files, talk to your calendar, or post to Slack without you asking every time? That's what hooks do. You basically tell Claude, "Hey, every time you edit a file, run prettier on it, or after every commit, run the tests. It's like setting up little trip wires that just fire on their own. You configure it once and forget about it." Now, MCP servers are the other half. These let Claude actually reach outside your codebase like uh you wire up a Google calendar server and now Claude can check your schedule, create events, all of that just by calling it like any other tool. Same with databases, Slack, whatever you need. So think of it this way. Hooks automate the reactions. MCP connects the world together. They turn clawed code from a really good coding assistant into something that actually runs your workflow.