Reference

Claude Code Commands

Every command, flag, shortcut, and configuration option in one place. 175 entries across 8 categories.

CLI Commands CLI Flags Slash Commands Keyboard Shortcuts Prompt Special Characters Environment Variables Configuration Files Hook Events

CLI Commands

interactive

Start Interactive Mode

claude

Launch Claude Code in interactive REPL mode.

one-shot

One-Shot Question

claude "your question"

Ask a question and get a response without entering interactive mode.

scripting

Pipe & Print

claude -p "your prompt"

Use in non-interactive mode for scripting and piping output.

scripting

Pipe Input

cat file.txt | claude -p "summarize this"

Pipe content from other commands into Claude for processing.

session

Continue Last Session

claude -c

Continue the most recent conversation session.

session

Resume Session

claude -r

Resume a previous session interactively from a list.

system

Update Claude Code

claude update

Update Claude Code to the latest version.

auth

Auth Login

claude auth login

Authenticate with your Anthropic account or API key.

auth

Auth Logout

claude auth logout

Sign out of your current session.

auth

Auth Status

claude auth status

Check current authentication status.

agents

Agents

claude agents

Manage and list available Claude Code agents.

system

Doctor

claude doctor

Run diagnostics to check Claude Code installation health.

system

Remote Control

claude remote-control

Start remote control mode for external tool integration.

mcp

MCP List

claude mcp list

List all configured MCP servers.

mcp

MCP Add

claude mcp add <name> <command> [args...]

Add a new MCP server with stdio transport.

mcp

MCP Add JSON

claude mcp add-json <name> '<json>'

Add a new MCP server from raw JSON configuration.

mcp

MCP Add from Desktop

claude mcp add-from-claude-desktop

Import MCP servers from Claude Desktop configuration.

mcp

MCP Remove

claude mcp remove <name>

Remove an MCP server by name.

mcp

MCP Serve

claude mcp serve

Start Claude Code as an MCP server itself.

config

Config List

claude config list

List all configuration settings and their values.

config

Config Get

claude config get <key>

Get the value of a specific configuration key.

config

Config Set

claude config set <key> <value>

Set a configuration value.

CLI Flags

model

Set the AI model to use for the session.

model

Fallback model if the primary model is unavailable.

output

Non-interactive mode — print response and exit.

session

Continue the most recent conversation.

session

Resume a specific session by ID or interactively.

session

Start a session from a pull request URL or number.

session

Fork an existing session into a new one.

session

Specify a session ID to resume or create.

session

Start Claude in a new git worktree.

context

Add additional directories to the session context.

limits

Limit the number of agentic turns in non-interactive mode.

limits

Set a maximum cost budget for the session.

prompt

Override the system prompt entirely.

prompt

Load system prompt from a file path.

prompt

Append additional instructions to the system prompt.

prompt

Append system prompt content from a file.

tools

Whitelist specific tools for the session.

tools

Blacklist specific tools from the session.

tools

Define a custom tool configuration.

permissions

Set permission level: default, plan, or bypassPermissions.

permissions

Skip all permission checks (requires acknowledgment).

permissions

Allow the skip-permissions flag to be used.

permissions

Use an MCP tool for permission prompts.

output

Set output format: text, json, or stream-json.

output

Set input format: text or stream-json.

output

Enforce a JSON schema on the output.

output

Include partial streaming messages in output.

session

Don't persist the session to disk.

agents

Specify an agent to use by name.

agents

List available agents.

mcp

Path to MCP server configuration file.

mcp

Only use MCP servers from the config file.

tools

Path to a directory of plugin files.

browser

Force enable Chrome browser integration.

browser

Disable Chrome browser integration.

system

Set IDE integration mode.

system

Enable debug logging.

system

Enable verbose output.

system

Initialize a CLAUDE.md file in the current directory.

system

Initialize CLAUDE.md and exit immediately.

system

Run maintenance tasks.

remote

Connect to a remote machine via SSH.

remote

Connect to a remote session via teleport.

system

Enable teammate mode for collaborative workflows.

system

Disable slash command processing.

system

Enable beta features by name.

config

Override settings from a JSON string.

config

Show where settings are loaded from.

system

Print the current Claude Code version.

Slash Commands

info

Show help and available commands.

session

Clear the conversation history.

session

Compact conversation to save context window.

info

Show current context window usage.

info

Show cost breakdown for the current session.

info

Show token usage statistics.

model

Switch to a different AI model.

model

Toggle fast mode (same model, faster output).

workflow

Enter plan mode for structured task planning.

editor

Toggle vim keybindings.

config

Create or update the CLAUDE.md file.

memory

View and manage auto-memory files.

config

Open configuration settings.

permissions

View and manage tool permissions.

system

Run diagnostic checks.

session

Resume a previous session.

session

Rename the current session.

session

Rewind to a previous point in the conversation.

output

Export the conversation to a file.

output

Copy the last response to clipboard.

workflow

Review code changes made in the session.

system

Report a bug in Claude Code.

workflow

View and manage background tasks.

agents

List and manage available agents.

info

Show session statistics.

info

Show usage insights and patterns.

config

View and manage lifecycle hooks.

mcp

Manage MCP server connections.

Change the color theme.

Set output verbosity style.

Configure terminal integration.

View and configure keyboard shortcuts.

Configure the status line display.

remote

Connect to or manage teleport sessions.

config

Edit the shell rc file.

context

Add a directory to the session context.

auth

Authenticate with Anthropic.

session

Exit Claude Code.

system

Manage sandbox environments.

system

Install the Claude Code GitHub App.

workflow

View and manage the todo list.

workflow

Run batch operations across files.

workflow

Review and simplify recent code changes.

tools

Manage plugins.

info

Show session and connection status.

Keyboard Shortcuts

KeysAction

Enter

Send message / confirm action

Shift + Enter

Insert a new line

\ + Enter

Escape newline — send multi-line input

Esc

Cancel current input / close menu

Esc × 2

Force-cancel a running operation

Ctrl + C

Interrupt the current generation

Ctrl + G

Open fuzzy file search

Ctrl + R

Search through session history

Ctrl + T

Open tool selection

Ctrl + O

Open a file in the editor

Ctrl + S

Save current conversation

Ctrl + V

Paste from clipboard

Ctrl + L

Clear the terminal screen

Tab

Accept autocomplete suggestion

Shift + Tab

Cycle autocomplete backwards

Cmd/Alt + P

Toggle plan mode

Cmd/Alt + T

Toggle tool permissions

Up Arrow

Recall previous message

Shift + Drag

Select text in terminal

?

Show keyboard shortcut help

Prompt Special Characters

CharacterDescription

@filename

Reference a file and add it to context

@terminal:name

Reference output from a named terminal session

#content

Include content from a specific source

!command

Execute a shell command inline

& task

Run a task in the background

Environment Variables

VariableDescription

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

Your Anthropic API key for authentication.

CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL

Set reasoning effort: low, medium, or high.

CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS

Maximum tokens in a single response.

MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_TOKENS

Maximum tokens for MCP tool responses.

MAX_THINKING_TOKENS

Maximum tokens for extended thinking.

BASH_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS

Default timeout for shell commands (ms).

BASH_MAX_TIMEOUT_MS

Maximum allowed timeout for shell commands (ms).

SLASH_COMMAND_TOOL_CHAR_BUDGET

Character budget for slash command tool output.

CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS

Enable experimental agent teams feature.

CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID

Task list ID for todo integration.

CLAUDE_CODE_HOME

Override the Claude Code home directory path.

DEBUG

Enable debug logging output.

Configuration Files

PathDescription

CLAUDE.md

Project-level instructions loaded automatically into context.

.claude/settings.json

Project-scoped settings (tracked in git).

.claude/settings.local.json

Local project settings (git-ignored).

~/.claude/settings.json

Global user settings applied to all projects.

~/.claude/keybindings.json

Custom keyboard shortcut bindings.

~/.claude/commands/

User-defined global slash commands.

.claude/commands/

Project-specific slash commands.

~/.claude/skills/

Global skill files loaded automatically.

.claude/skills/

Project-specific skill files.

Hook Events

EventDescription

PreToolUse

Fires before a tool is executed. Can block or modify.

PostToolUse

Fires after a tool completes successfully.

PostToolUseFailure

Fires after a tool execution fails.

Stop

Fires when Claude finishes generating a response.

SessionStart

Fires when a new session begins.

SessionEnd

Fires when a session ends.

UserPromptSubmit

Fires when the user submits a message.

PermissionRequest

Fires when Claude requests a permission.

Notification

Fires when a notification is triggered.

SubagentStart

Fires when a subagent is launched.

SubagentStop

Fires when a subagent finishes.

TeammateIdle

Fires when a teammate agent becomes idle.

TaskCompleted

Fires when a background task completes.

PreCompact

Fires before conversation compaction.

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