Tool cheatsheet

Claude Code Cheatsheet

Run Claude Code in the terminal: starting sessions, slash commands, permissions, CLAUDE.md, hooks, MCP servers and headless use.

Install and start

Install Claude Code — Install the CLI with npm. A native installer is also available; see the quickstart.
Start a session — Start an interactive session in the current project. You are asked to sign in on first use.
Start with a prompt — Open a session that begins with your question.
Check the version — Print the installed version.
Update Claude Code — Update to the latest release.
Diagnose problems — Check the installation and configuration for common problems. Inside a session, /doctor does the same.

Run one prompt and exit — Print mode runs the prompt, prints the answer and exits, which suits scripts.
Pipe content in — Send a file or command output to Claude as context.
Continue the last session — Pick up the most recent conversation in this directory.
Resume an earlier session — Choose from earlier sessions, or pass a session ID.
Choose a model — Start with a specific model, by alias or full name.
Start in plan mode — Plan mode lets Claude read and plan without making changes.
Give access to another folder — Let Claude work with files outside the current directory.
Get machine-readable output — Return the result as JSON so scripts can parse it.
Add to the system prompt — Add instructions for this run while keeping Claude Code's defaults.

List commands — Show the available slash commands.
Create a CLAUDE.md — Analyze the project and write a CLAUDE.md with build commands and conventions.
Start a fresh conversation — Clear the context window. Use it between unrelated tasks.
Shrink a long conversation — Summarize the history to free up context. Add instructions about what to keep.
Switch model — Choose a different model for the rest of the session.
Manage permissions — View and change which tools Claude may use without asking.
Check MCP servers — See connected MCP servers and sign in to remote ones.
See usage and cost — Show token use for the session.
Run a shell command — Start a line with ! to run it in your shell and add the output to the conversation.
Mention a file — Type @ then a path to add that file to the conversation.
Learn the keyboard shortcuts — Shift+Tab cycles permission modes, Esc interrupts Claude, and pressing Esc twice lets you go back and edit an earlier message.

Write a CLAUDE.md — Project memory that Claude reads at the start of every session: commands, conventions and gotchas.
Allow and deny tools — In .claude/settings.json, allow safe commands without prompts and block sensitive files.
Run a command after edits — A hook runs your command automatically at an event, here after Claude edits or writes a file.
Create a slash command — A Markdown file in .claude/commands becomes a command. This one is /review-pr, and $ARGUMENTS holds what you type after it.
Define a subagent — A Markdown file with front matter in .claude/agents defines a specialist Claude can delegate to.
Add a remote MCP server — Connect Claude Code to a remote MCP server by URL.
Add a local MCP server — Run a local MCP server as a subprocess. Everything after -- is the command that starts it.
List MCP servers — Show the configured MCP servers.

Run Claude Code in CI — Run a non-interactive task with only the tools it needs and a turn limit. Review the changes before merging.
Use an API key — Authenticate with an API key from the environment instead of signing in, which suits CI.
Review a diff in a script — Pipe a diff to Claude and get a review back.
Draft a commit message — Ask for a commit message from the staged changes.

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