Claude Code Terminal Commands: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet

Quick Reference

Bookmark this page — it’s the only Claude Code command reference you’ll need.

CLI Commands

Starting Claude Code

Command	Description
claude	Start a new interactive session
claude --continue	Continue the last conversation
claude --resume	Resume a previous session (interactive picker)
claude --print "query"	One-shot mode — print answer and exit
claude --dangerously-skip-permissions	Skip permission prompts (use with caution)

Installation & Updates

Command	Description
claude --version	Display current version
claude doctor	Run health diagnostics
claude update	Update to latest version
claude install	Migrate npm install to native

Configuration

Command	Description
claude config	Open configuration
claude config list	List all settings
claude config set KEY VALUE	Set a configuration value
claude config get KEY	Get a configuration value

Common Config Keys

# Set auto-update channel
claude config set autoUpdatesChannel stable

# Set allowed tools
claude config set allowedTools "read,write,search,execute"

# Set default model
claude config set model claude-sonnet-4-20250514

Interactive Session Slash Commands

Use these commands during an active Claude Code session:

Command	Description
/help	Show all available commands
/config	Open session configuration
/cost	Show token usage and estimated cost
/clear	Clear conversation history
/compact	Compress conversation to save tokens
/doctor	Run health diagnostics
/login	Switch authentication accounts
/logout	Log out of current account
/permissions	View and manage tool permissions
/review	Request a code review
/terminal-setup	Configure terminal integration

Piping & One-Shot Mode

Pipe Input

# Pipe file content to Claude Code
cat error.log | claude --print "Explain this error"

# Pipe command output
npm test 2>&1 | claude --print "Fix the failing tests"

One-Shot Queries

# Quick question without interactive mode
claude --print "How do I create a React context?"

# Generate code and pipe to file
claude --print "Write a Python script to parse CSV files" > parse_csv.py

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	API key for console authentication
CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH	Path to Git Bash on Windows
DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER	Set to 1 to disable auto-updates
USE_BUILTIN_RIPGREP	Set to 0 on Alpine/musl systems
CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_TOKENS	Override max output tokens

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+C	Cancel current operation
Ctrl+D	Exit Claude Code
Up Arrow	Previous input from history
Down Arrow	Next input from history
Tab	Accept suggestion/autocomplete
Esc	Cancel current input line
Ctrl+L	Clear screen (terminal level)

File Configuration

CLAUDE.md (Project Context)

Location: Project root

# Project Context
- Tech stack: React + TypeScript
- Use functional components
- Tests required for new features

.mcp.json (MCP Servers)

Location: Project root

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "server-name": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "package-name"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

settings.json (User Settings)

Location: ~/.claude/settings.json

{
  "autoUpdatesChannel": "stable",
  "theme": "dark"
}

Common Workflows

Feature Development

cd my-project
claude
> Implement user authentication with JWT tokens. 
  Include login, register, and middleware.

Bug Fixing

claude --continue
> The test suite is failing. Run npm test and fix all errors.

Code Review

claude
> Review the changes in the current git diff and suggest improvements.

Refactoring

claude
> Refactor the database module to use connection pooling 
  and add proper error handling.

Pro Tips

1. Use --continue to resume where you left off
2. Use /compact to save tokens on long sessions
3. Use /cost to monitor spending
4. Pipe errors directly to Claude Code for instant debugging
5. Create aliases for common commands:

alias cc='claude'
alias ccc='claude --continue'
alias ccr='claude --resume'
alias ccp='claude --print'

Related Resources

• Install Claude Code — Setup guide
• Tips and Tricks — Power user techniques
• Claude Code for Beginners — Getting started
• Official Documentation — Anthropic docs