CLI Reference

Complete reference for Claude Code command-line interface.

Global Options

Options available for all commands:

Option	Description	Default
--version	Show version number	-
--help	Show help	-
--verbose	Enable verbose output	false
--quiet	Suppress non-error output	false
--no-color	Disable colored output	false
--config <path>	Use custom config file	~/.claude/settings.json

Starting Claude

Basic Usage

claude [options]

Options

Option	Description	Example
-p, --prompt <text>	Start with a prompt	claude -p "Review this code"
-m, --model <model>	Set model	claude -m opus
--dangerously-skip-permissions	Skip all permission prompts	claude --dangerously-skip-permissions
--allowed-tools <tools>	Pre-allow tools	claude --allowed-tools Edit,Bash
--add-dir <path>	Add additional directory	claude --add-dir ../shared
--no-cache	Disable context caching	claude --no-cache
--output-format <format>	Set output format	claude --output-format json

Examples

# Start with a specific model
claude --model sonnet

# Start with pre-allowed tools
claude --allowed-tools "Edit,Read,Bash(git:*)"

# Non-interactive mode
claude -p "Fix all ESLint errors" --output-format stream-json

Slash Commands

Commands available during a Claude session:

Session Management

Command	Description	Usage
/help	Show all commands	/help
/clear	Clear conversation context	/clear
/exit	Exit Claude Code	/exit
/restart	Restart Claude session	/restart

Model & Configuration

Command	Description	Usage
/model [model]	Show/change model	/model opus
/models	List available models	/models
/config	Show configuration	/config
/settings	Edit settings	/settings

Permissions

Command	Description	Usage
/permissions	Manage tool permissions	/permissions
/allow <tool>	Allow a tool	/allow Edit
/deny <tool>	Deny a tool	/deny Bash
/reset-permissions	Reset all permissions	/reset-permissions

Context Management

Command	Description	Usage
/context	Show context usage	/context
/memory	Manage CLAUDE.md files	/memory
/memory load	Reload memory files	/memory load
/memory edit	Edit memory inline	/memory edit

Directory Management

Command	Description	Usage
/add-dir <path>	Add directory	/add-dir ../lib
/remove-dir <path>	Remove directory	/remove-dir ../lib
/dirs	List directories	/dirs

MCP Servers

Command	Description	Usage
/mcp list	List MCP servers	/mcp list
/mcp add <name>	Add MCP server	/mcp add github
/mcp remove <name>	Remove MCP server	/mcp remove github
/mcp restart <name>	Restart MCP server	/mcp restart think-tool

Advanced Commands

Command	Description	Usage
/install-github-app	Install GitHub integration	/install-github-app
/export	Export conversation	/export conversation.md
/import	Import conversation	/import saved-chat.json
/stats	Show session statistics	/stats

MCP Management

List Servers

claude mcp list

Output:

Available MCP servers:
  ✓ filesystem (local)
  ✓ github (http)
  ✗ think-tool (not installed)

Add Server

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

Options:

• --transport <type> - Transport type (local/http)
• --env <key=value> - Environment variables

Examples:

# Local server
claude mcp add sequential-thinking npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking

# HTTP server
claude mcp add --transport http github https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/

# With environment variables
claude mcp add --env API_KEY=$SECRET_KEY custom-server ./server.js

Remove Server

claude mcp remove <name>

Configure Server

claude mcp config <name> [key] [value]

Examples:

# Show config
claude mcp config github

# Set value
claude mcp config github timeout 30000

Configuration Management

View Configuration

claude config show [key]

Examples:

# Show all config
claude config show

# Show specific key
claude config show defaultModel

Set Configuration

claude config set <key> <value>

Examples:

claude config set defaultModel opus
claude config set autoSave true
claude config set theme dark

Reset Configuration

claude config reset [key]

Tool Permission Syntax

Basic Syntax

ToolName
ToolName(command:pattern)

Examples

Permission	Description
Edit	Allow all file edits
Read	Allow all file reads
Bash	Allow all bash commands
Bash(ls:*)	Allow only ls commands
Bash(git:*)	Allow only git commands
Bash(npm install:*)	Allow only npm install
Write(*.md)	Allow writing markdown files
Edit(src/*:*)	Allow editing files in src/

Complex Patterns

# Multiple patterns
claude --allowed-tools "Bash(ls:*),Bash(cat:*),Edit(*.js)"

# Glob patterns
claude --allowed-tools "Edit(src/**/*.ts)"

# Negation
claude --allowed-tools "Edit,!Edit(*.env)"

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	API key	Required
CLAUDE_MODEL	Default model	sonnet
CLAUDE_NO_COLOR	Disable colors	false
CLAUDE_CACHE_DIR	Cache directory	~/.claude/cache
CLAUDE_LOG_LEVEL	Log level	info
CLAUDE_TIMEOUT	Request timeout	300000
HTTP_PROXY	HTTP proxy	-
HTTPS_PROXY	HTTPS proxy	-

Output Formats

Stream (Default)

Normal interactive output.

JSON

claude -p "List files" --output-format json

Output:

{
  "messages": [...],
  "tools_used": ["LS"],
  "result": "success"
}

Stream JSON

claude -p "Write a function" --output-format stream-json

Outputs newline-delimited JSON events.

Error Codes

Code	Description	Solution
1	General error	Check error message
2	Authentication failed	Verify API key
3	Network error	Check connection
4	Permission denied	Check file permissions
5	Tool blocked	Review permissions
6	Context overflow	Clear context
7	Model unavailable	Try different model

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Tab	Autocomplete
Shift+Tab	Toggle Plan Mode
Ctrl+C	Cancel current operation
Ctrl+D	Exit Claude
Ctrl+L	Clear screen
Ctrl+R	Search history
Esc	Interrupt Claude
Esc Esc	Edit last prompt
↑/↓	Navigate history

Advanced Usage

Piping Input

# Pipe file content
cat script.js | claude -p "Explain this code"

# Pipe command output
git diff | claude -p "Summarize these changes"

Scripting

#!/bin/bash
# Automated code review
git diff main | claude -p "Review these changes for:
- Security issues
- Performance problems
- Best practices"

Headless Mode

# Run without interaction
claude -p "Generate README.md for this project" \
  --dangerously-skip-permissions \
  --output-format json \
  > result.json

Next Steps

• Learn about Configuration Files
• Explore Workflows
• Master MCP Servers