Claude Code Cheat Sheet — Complete Reference

CtrlC Cancel input/generation

CtrlD Exit session

CtrlL Clear screen

CtrlO Toggle verbose/transcript

CtrlR Reverse search history

CtrlG Open prompt in editor

CtrlX CtrlE Open in editor (alias)NEW

CtrlB Background running task

CtrlT Toggle task list

CtrlV Paste image ([Image #N] chip)NEW

CtrlX CtrlK Kill background agentsNEW

EscEsc Rewind or summarize

ShiftTab Cycle permission modes

AltP Switch model

AltT Toggle thinking

AltO Toggle fast modeNEW

\Enter Newline (quick)

CtrlJ Newline (control seq)

/ Slash command

! Direct bash

@ File mention + autocomplete

↑↓ Navigate

←→ Expand/collapse

P Preview

R Rename

/ Search

A All projects

B Current branch

/ Search transcriptNEW

N / ⇧N Next/prev match

CtrlE Toggle show all

Q / Esc Exit transcript

--transport http Remote HTTP (recommended)

--transport stdio Local process

--transport sse Remote SSE

Local ~/.claude.json (you only)

Project .mcp.json (shared/VCS)

User ~/.claude.json (global)

/mcp Interactive UI

claude mcp list List all servers

claude mcp serve CC as MCP server

Elicitation Servers request input mid-taskNEW

2KB cap Tool desc + server instructions limitNEW

/clear Clear conversation

/compact [focus] Compact context

/resume Resume/switch session

/rename [name] Name current session

/branch [name] Branch conversation (/fork alias)

/cost Token usage stats

/context Visualize context (grid)

/diff Interactive diff viewer

/copy [N] Copy last (or Nth) response

/rewind Rewind conv / code checkpoint

/export Export conversation

/config Open settings

/model [model] Switch model (←→ effort)

/fast [on|off] Toggle fast mode

/vim Toggle vim mode

/theme Change color theme

/permissions View/update permissions

/effort [level] Set effort (low/medium/high/max/auto)NEW

/color [color] Set prompt-bar color

/keybindings Customize keyboard shortcuts

/terminal-setup Configure terminal keybindings

/init Create CLAUDE.md

/memory Edit CLAUDE.md files

/mcp Manage MCP servers

/hooks Manage hooks

/skills List available skills

/agents Manage agents

/chrome Chrome integration

/reload-plugins Hot-reload plugins

/add-dir <path> Add working directory

/btw <question> Side question (no context)

/plan [desc] Plan mode (+ auto-start)

/loop [interval] Schedule recurring task

/voice Push-to-talk voice (20 langs)

/doctor Diagnose installation

/pr-comments [PR] Fetch GitHub PR comments

/stats Usage streaks & prefs

/insights Analyze sessions report

/desktop Continue in Desktop app

/remote-control Bridge to claude.ai/code (/rc)NEW

/usage Plan limits & rate status

/schedule Cloud scheduled tasks

/security-review Security analysis of changes

/help Show help + commands

/feedback Submit feedback (alias: /bug)

/release-notes View full changelog

/stickers Order stickers! 🎉

./CLAUDE.md Project (team-shared)

~/.claude/CLAUDE.md Personal (all projects)

/etc/claude-code/ Managed (org-wide)

.claude/rules/*.md Project rules

~/.claude/rules/*.md User rules

paths: frontmatter Path-specific rules

@path/to/file Import in CLAUDE.md

~/.claude/projects/<proj>/memory/

MEMORY.md + topic files, auto-loaded (25KB/200 lines max)

ShiftTab Normal → Auto-Accept → Plan

--permission-mode plan Start in plan mode

AltT Toggle thinking on/off

"ultrathink" Max effort for turn

CtrlO See thinking (verbose)

/effort ○ low · ◐ medium · ● high · ★ max

--worktree name Isolated branch per feature

isolation: worktree Agent in own worktree

sparsePaths Checkout only needed dirsNEW

/batch Auto-creates worktrees

/voice Enable push-to-talk

Space (hold) Record, release to send

20 languages EN, ES, FR, DE, CZ, PL…

/context Usage + optimization tips

/compact [focus] Compress with focus

Auto-compact ~95% capacity

1M context Opus 4.6 (Max/Team/Ent)

CLAUDE.md Survives compaction!

claude -c Continue last conv

claude -r "name" Resume by name

/btw question Side Q, no context cost

claude -p "query" Non-interactive

--output-format json Structured output

--max-budget-usd 5 Cost cap

cat file | claude -p Pipe input

/loop 5m msg Recurring task

/rc Remote control

--remote Web session on claude.ai

~/.claude/settings.json User settings

.claude/settings.json Project (shared)

.claude/settings.local.json Local only

~/.claude.json OAuth, MCP, state

.mcp.json Project MCP servers

managed-settings.d/ Drop-in policy fragmentsNEW

modelOverrides Map model picker → custom IDs

autoMemoryDirectory Custom memory dir

worktree.sparsePaths Sparse checkout dirsNEW

sandbox.failIfUnavailable Exit if sandbox fails

hooks: if Conditional hooks (permission rule syntax)NEW

allowedChannelPlugins Admin channel plugin allowlistNEW

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

ANTHROPIC_MODEL

CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL low/medium/high/max/auto

MAX_THINKING_TOKENS 0=off

ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_MODEL_OPTION Custom /model entry

CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_SEED_DIR Multiple plugin seed dirs

CLAUDE_CODE_SUBPROCESS_ENV_SCRUB Strip creds from subprocs

CLAUDE_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS Streaming watchdog (def 90s)NEW

CLAUDECODE Detect CC shell (=1)

/simplify Code review (3 parallel agents)

/batch Large parallel changes (5-30 worktrees)

/debug [desc] Troubleshoot from debug log

/loop [interval] Recurring scheduled task

/claude-api Load API + SDK reference

.claude/skills/<name>/ Project skills

~/.claude/skills/<name>/ Personal skills

description Auto-invocation trigger

allowed-tools Skip permission prompts

model Override model for skill

effort Override effort levelNEW

paths: [globs] Path-specific (YAML list)NEW

context: fork Run in subagent

$ARGUMENTS User input placeholder

${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} Skill's own directory

!`cmd` Dynamic context injection

Explore Fast read-only (Haiku)

Plan Research for plan mode

General Full tools, complex tasks

Bash Terminal separate context

permissionMode default/acceptEdits/plan/dontAsk/bypass

isolation: worktree Run in git worktree

memory: user|project Persistent memory

background: true Background task

maxTurns Limit agentic turns

initialPrompt Auto-submit first turnNEW

SendMessage Resume agents (replaces resume)NEW

claude Interactive

claude "q" With prompt

claude -p "q" Headless

claude -c Continue last

claude -r "n" Resume

claude update Update

--model Set model

-w Git worktree

-n / --name Session name

--add-dir Add dir

--agent Use agent

--allowedTools Pre-approve

--output-format json/stream

--json-schema Structured

--max-turns Limit turns

--max-budget-usd Cost cap

--console Auth via Anthropic Console

--verbose Verbose

--bare Minimal headless (no hooks/LSP)NEW

--channels Permission relay / MCP pushNEW

--remote Web session

--effort low/medium/high/max/auto

--permission-mode plan/default/…

--dangerously-skip-permissions Skip all prompts ⚠️

--chrome Chrome

PowerShell tool Windows opt-in previewNEW