The 5 Part Goal Template for Claude Code

What this does

Give Claude a finish line, not a to-do list

The goal command changes how Claude Code works. Instead of you feeding it one instruction at a time, you describe the finished result and Claude plans, works, checks itself, and keeps going until it gets there.

Most people write their goal as one vague sentence, so Claude wanders. The template below writes the goal in 5 parts, and the last part is the one everybody skips: how Claude proves it did the job. It has been saving me hours every single week.

The template

Copy and fill it in

The 5 part goalFrom the video

Fill in the 5 lines, then hand the whole thing to the goal command. Done means what you wrote, and Claude has to prove it.

Copy it. Fill in anything in [brackets].

TASK: [What Claude should do]
WHY: [Why this matters or who it is for]
OUTCOME: [The exact finished result]
CONSTRAINTS: [What Claude must or must not do]
VERIFICATION: [How Claude should prove the outcome is complete]

The breakdown

What each part does

TASK is the verbWhat you want Claude to DO for you.
WHY is the big pictureWho it's for or why it matters. Claude Fable especially works better when it has this context.
OUTCOME is the finished resultSpecific enough that "done" is clear. Imagine describing it to a coworker.
CONSTRAINTS are the guardrailsLimitations, things NOT to change, and how many turns to stop at.
VERIFICATION is the checkerHow Claude proves it achieved your outcome, instead of just telling you it did.

Example

The template filled in

This is the exact example from the video, a week of content in one goal.

Copy it.

TASK: Install this plugin to create a week of content.
WHY: So I show up every day without writing from scratch.
OUTCOME: A week of ready to post content for different platforms.
CONSTRAINTS: Match my voice file and fit each platform's limits. Stop after 10 turns.
VERIFICATION: Check every post against my voice rules and keep fixing until each one passes.

How to use it

3 steps and you're done

1

Fill in the templateCopy it and write your 5 lines. Spend the most time on OUTCOME and VERIFICATION, those two decide whether Claude finishes or wanders.

2

Hand it to the goal commandIn Claude Code, type /goal and paste your filled template. Claude starts working toward the finish line on its own.

3

Let the checker runClaude keeps checking its work against your VERIFICATION line until the outcome holds. New to this? Keep "stop after 10 turns" in your constraints while you learn.

The goal command lives in Claude Code. If you haven't seen it yet, Anthropic's official guide shows what it can do.