Reference

Cheat Sheet

Commands, shortcuts, CLI flags & configuration — all in one place.

Keyboard Shortcuts

General Controls

Ctrl+CCancel input or generation

Ctrl+DExit session

Ctrl+FKill all background agents (2x)

Ctrl+GOpen in text editor

Ctrl+LClear terminal screen

Ctrl+OToggle verbose output

Ctrl+RReverse search history

Ctrl+BBackground running tasks

Ctrl+TToggle task list

Esc EscRewind / summarize

Shift+TabCycle permission modes

Model & Thinking

Option+PSwitch model

Option+TToggle extended thinking

Option+MCycle permission modes (alt)

Multiline Input

\ + EnterQuick escape newline

Option+EnterNew line (macOS default)

Shift+EnterNew line (iTerm2/WezTerm/Ghostty/Kitty)

Ctrl+JNew line (control sequence)

Text Editing

Ctrl+KDelete to end of line

Ctrl+UDelete entire line

Ctrl+YPaste deleted text

Option+BMove cursor back one word

Option+FMove cursor forward one word

Clipboard & Images

Cmd+VPaste image from clipboard

Quick Prefixes

/Slash command or skill

!Run bash command directly

@File path mention (autocomplete)

Slash Commands

Session

/clearClear conversation (alias: /reset, /new)

/compactCompact conversation with optional focus

/resumeResume past session (alias: /continue)

/branchFork conversation (alias: /fork)

/renameRename current session

/rewindRewind to checkpoint (alias: /checkpoint)

/exportExport conversation as text

/exitExit CLI (alias: /quit)

Model & Config

/modelSelect or change AI model

/fastToggle fast mode

/effortSet effort level (low/med/high/max)

/configOpen settings (alias: /settings)

/permissionsView / update permissions

/themeChange color theme

/vimToggle Vim editing mode

/voiceToggle push-to-talk dictation

/colorSet prompt bar color

Information

/helpShow help

/costShow token usage & cost

/usageShow plan usage & rate limits

/statusVersion, model, account info

/contextVisualize context usage

/statsDaily usage, streaks, model prefs

/diffOpen interactive diff viewer

/copyCopy last response to clipboard

/release-notesView full changelog

Project & Tools

/initInitialize project with CLAUDE.md

/add-dirAdd working directory to session

/memoryEdit CLAUDE.md & auto-memory

/mcpManage MCP server connections

/hooksView hook configurations

/skillsList available skills

/tasksList & manage background tasks

/planEnter plan mode

/sandboxToggle sandbox mode

/scheduleCreate / manage scheduled tasks

Account & Setup

/loginSign in to Anthropic

/logoutSign out

/doctorDiagnose installation

/feedbackSubmit feedback (alias: /bug)

/upgradeSwitch plan tier

/terminal-setupConfigure terminal keybindings

/ideManage IDE integrations

/pluginManage plugins

/keybindingsOpen keybindings config file

Collaboration

/btwQuick side question

/pr-commentsFetch GitHub PR comments

/security-reviewAnalyze pending changes

/remote-controlRemote control from claude.ai

/desktopContinue in Desktop app

/install-github-appSet up GitHub Actions app

/install-slack-appInstall Slack app

CLI Flags

Session & Startup

-c, --continueLoad most recent conversation

-r, --resume IDResume specific session

--fork-sessionNew session ID when resuming

-n, --nameSet session display name

-p, --printOne-shot print mode (non-interactive)

--bareMinimal mode, skip auto-discovery

-w, --worktreeStart in isolated git worktree

--tmuxCreate tmux session for worktree

--from-pr 123Resume sessions linked to PR

--session-id UUIDUse specific session ID

Model & Effort

--model MODELSet model (or use sonnet/opus)

--effort LEVELlow / medium / high / max

--fallback-modelEnable fallback when overloaded

Permissions

--permission-modedefault / acceptEdits / plan / auto / bypassPermissions

--allowedToolsTools allowed without prompt

--disallowedToolsRemove tools from context

--dangerously-skip-permissionsSkip all prompts (caution!)

System Prompt

--system-promptReplace default system prompt

--append-system-promptAppend to default prompt

Output & Limits

--output-formattext / json / stream-json

--input-formattext / stream-json (with --print)

--json-schemaGet validated JSON output

--max-budget-usd NMax dollar amount (with --print)

--toolsRestrict available built-in tools

-v, --versionPrint version

MCP & Plugins

--mcp-config FILELoad MCP servers from JSON

--strict-mcp-configOnly use specified MCP config

--chrome / --no-chromeEnable / disable Chrome integration

--plugin-dir DIRLoad plugins from directory

--agent NAMESpecify agent for session

--agents JSONDefine custom subagents via JSON

--add-dir PATHAdd working directories

--settings FILELoad additional settings

-d, --debugEnable debug mode (optional filter)

--verboseEnable verbose logging

Auth Commands

claude auth loginSign in

claude auth logoutSign out

claude auth statusShow auth status

claude updateUpdate to latest version

claude mcpConfigure MCP servers

Permission Modes

Cycle with Shift+Tab

defaultRead files only, ask for everything else

acceptEditsRead + edit files without asking

planRead only, no edits allowed

autoAll actions (with background safety checks)

bypassPermissionsAll actions, no checks (VMs only!)

dontAskOnly pre-approved tools

Memory & Files

CLAUDE.md Locations

~/.claude/CLAUDE.mdGlobal instructions (all projects)

.claude/CLAUDE.mdProject-specific instructions

.claude/rules/Path-specific rules

Settings Locations

~/.claude/settings.jsonUser settings (all projects)

.claude/settings.jsonProject settings (committed)

.claude/settings.local.jsonProject settings (local only)

Auto Memory

~/.claude/projects/<path>/memory/Auto-memory files per project

MEMORY.mdMemory index file (auto-loaded)

Other Files

~/.claude/keybindings.jsonKeybinding overrides

~/.claude/mcp.jsonMCP server config (global)

.claude/mcp.jsonMCP server config (project)

~/.claude/hooks/Global hook scripts

Hook Events

Session Lifecycle

SessionStartSession begins or resumes

SessionEndSession terminates

StopClaude finishes responding

StopFailureTurn ends due to API error

User Input

UserPromptSubmitUser submits a prompt

NotificationClaude needs attention

Tool Execution

PreToolUseBefore tool call (can block)

PostToolUseAfter tool call succeeds

PostToolUseFailureAfter tool call fails

PermissionRequestPermission dialog appears

Agents & Tasks

SubagentStartSubagent spawned

SubagentStopSubagent finished

TeammateIdleTeam member goes idle

TaskCompletedTask marked completed

Context & Config

PreCompactBefore context compaction

PostCompactAfter context compaction

InstructionsLoadedCLAUDE.md / rules loaded

ConfigChangeConfig file changes

Worktree & MCP

WorktreeCreateWorktree created

WorktreeRemoveWorktree removed

ElicitationMCP requests user input

ElicitationResultUser responds to MCP input

Hook Types

commandShell command

httpPOST to URL

promptLLM prompt

agentSubagent invocation

Environment Variables

Authentication & API

ANTHROPIC_API_KEYAPI key (overrides subscription)

ANTHROPIC_BASE_URLOverride API endpoint

ANTHROPIC_MODELModel setting

Cloud Providers

CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCKUse AWS Bedrock

CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEXUse Google Vertex AI

CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRYUse Microsoft Foundry

Model Behavior

CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVELEffort: low / medium / high / max

MAX_THINKING_TOKENSExtended thinking token budget

CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENSMax output tokens

CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOWAuto-compaction threshold

Feature Toggles

CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_AUTO_MEMORYDisable auto memory

CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_FAST_MODEDisable fast mode

CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_1M_CONTEXTDisable 1M context

CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKSDisable background tasks

CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_CRONDisable scheduled tasks

Bash & Commands

BASH_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MSDefault command timeout

BASH_MAX_TIMEOUT_MSMax command timeout

BASH_MAX_OUTPUT_LENGTHMax output chars before truncation

CLAUDE_CODE_SHELLOverride shell detection

MCP

MCP_TIMEOUTMCP server startup timeout (ms)

MCP_TOOL_TIMEOUTMCP tool execution timeout

MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_TOKENSMax tokens in MCP responses

Network

HTTP_PROXYHTTP proxy server

HTTPS_PROXYHTTPS proxy server

CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIRCustom config directory

Telemetry (Disable)

DISABLE_TELEMETRYOpt out of telemetry

DISABLE_ERROR_REPORTINGOpt out of Sentry

DISABLE_AUTOUPDATERDisable auto updates

Terminal Shortcuts

macOS Terminal / iTerm2

⌘TNew tab

⌘NNew window

⌘WClose tab / pane

⌘DSplit pane vertically (iTerm2)

⌘⇧DSplit pane horizontally (iTerm2)

⌘[ / ⌘]Switch panes (iTerm2)

⌘KClear terminal buffer

⌘⇧Left/RightSwitch tabs

⌘FFind in terminal

⌘+ / ⌘-Zoom in / out

⌘,Open preferences

Shared (Bash / Zsh)

Ctrl+AMove cursor to start of line

Ctrl+EMove cursor to end of line

Ctrl+WDelete word before cursor

Ctrl+ZSuspend process (fg to resume)

TabAutocomplete path / command

Tab TabShow all completions

!!Repeat last command

!$Last argument of previous command

Keybinding Contexts

~/.claude/keybindings.json

GlobalApplies everywhere

ChatMain chat input area

AutocompleteAutocomplete menu open

SettingsSettings menu

ConfirmationPermission / confirmation dialogs

TabsTab navigation

HelpHelp menu visible

TranscriptTranscript viewer

HistorySearchHistory search mode (Ctrl+R)

TaskBackground task running

DiffDialogDiff viewer

ModelPickerModel picker

PluginPlugin dialog

SelectGeneric select / list

AttachmentsImage / attachment bar