Claude Code vs Devin

Map entry points before a risky change

Claude Code handles this as a draft: Scripts, main files, and the test command in the README. Do not push.

Steps: 4
Cost: low
Time: Half an hour

Unverified · code.claude.com · 16 Oct 2026

Refactor one module and land tests in the same session

Claude Code reads a single module, writes characterization tests, then changes structure only where those tests pass.

Steps: 5
Cost: low
Time: Several hours on a module you already understand well enough to review.

Unverified · code.claude.com · 15 Oct 2026

Check a README's commands against the repo

Claude Code handles this as a draft: Which commands are missing a script entry. Do not rewrite the README until I agree.

Steps: 4
Cost: low
Time: Half an hour

Unverified · code.claude.com · 14 Oct 2026

Upgrade one dependency and read the changelog first

Claude Code summarizes breaking changes for a single dependency, applies the upgrade, and runs the existing tests. Major bumps stay behind a question.

Steps: 4
Cost: low
Time: The changelog reading and the mechanical codemod, not the production watch afterward.

Unverified · code.claude.com · 12 Oct 2026

List upgrade steps from a changelog

Claude Code handles this as a draft: Breaking changes that mention the version I am on. Do not run the upgrade.

Steps: 4
Cost: low
Time: Forty minutes

Unverified · code.claude.com · 8 Oct 2026

Map a repo for someone who cloned it this morning

Claude Code writes a one-page map of how to run, test, and change the system. It does not edit application code.

Steps: 4
Cost: low
Time: A half day of wandering for a new teammate, if the map is checked by someone who already knows the repo.

Unverified · code.claude.com · 2 Oct 2026

Review dependency licenses I exported

Claude Code handles this as a draft: Which ones are not on the allow list I wrote. Do not add packages.

Steps: 4
Cost: low
Time: Half an hour

Unverified · code.claude.com · 12 Sep 2026

Devin playbooks

Draft a migration plan for one table

Devin handles this as a draft: Columns and the backfill question. Do not run SQL.

Steps: 4
Cost: medium
Time: An hour

Unverified · docs.devin.ai · 16 Oct 2026

Draft commit messages for a split

Devin handles this as a draft: One message per hunk group I describe. Do not commit.

Steps: 4
Cost: free
Time: Fifteen minutes

Unverified · docs.devin.ai · 14 Oct 2026

Review a diff for risky calls

Devin handles this as a draft: Network, auth, and migrations. Quote the lines. Do not approve the PR.

Steps: 4
Cost: low
Time: Forty minutes

Unverified · docs.devin.ai · 13 Oct 2026

Ask Devin for a pull request from a tightly written issue

Devin picks up one issue and opens a PR. The playbook tells it which repo, which commands, and what not to touch.

Steps: 4
Cost: medium
Time: A first implementation pass on an issue that already has repro steps. Review time does not go to zero.

Unverified · docs.devin.ai · 9 Oct 2026

Draft a rollback note

Devin handles this as a draft: The command in the runbook I paste and the signal that means stop. Do not execute it.

Steps: 4
Cost: low
Time: Twenty minutes

Unverified · docs.devin.ai · 8 Oct 2026

Review a Devin session before anyone merges

Use Devin's session output as a review packet: commands run, files touched, and tests actually executed. The playbook is for the reviewer, not a second coding agent.

Steps: 4
Cost: medium
Time: Reconstructing what the agent did, which is often longer than reading a normal PR.

Unverified · docs.devin.ai · 18 Sep 2026