# Claude Code commands cheatsheet (2026) > A practical map of Claude Code’s shortcuts, prefixes, session commands, and CLI flags - ordered like a real terminal cheatsheet. URL: https://bartlomiejkrupa.dev/articles/claude-code-commands-cheatsheet-2026/ Published: 2026-07-08 Updated: 2026-07-29 Tags: claude-code, commands, shortcuts, interactive-mode, cheatsheet Summary: A practical map of Claude Code’s shortcuts, prefixes, session commands, and CLI flags - ordered like a real terminal cheatsheet. The basics worth memorizing: **shortcuts, prefixes, in-session slash commands, and shell CLI** - not the full `/commands` list, just what you reach for daily. Keyboard shortcuts are described in prose, not boxed in code; the collapsible "Example" blocks only show up where there's an actual string worth copy-pasting. If you want the full control surface, see [Claude Code tools](/articles/claude-code-tools) and [Claude Code plan mode](/articles/claude-code-plan-mode) for the workflow mechanics that make these shortcuts pay off. For why `/compact` and `/clear` beat buying a bigger window, see [Prune the log, not the window](/articles/llm-context-management). ## Cheatsheet layout Jump to a section: - [**Command cheatsheet**](#command-cheatsheet-when-youre-stuck) - keys you hit when things stall (`Ctrl+C`, `Esc`, `Ctrl+R`, `Ctrl+O`, `Ctrl+G`). - [**Shortcuts & prefixes**](#shortcuts--prefixes) - `/` for commands, `!` for shell mode, `@` for file mentions, `\\ + Enter` for multiline, `Shift+Tab` for permission modes. - [**Claude (shell) commands**](#claude-shell-commands) - start, continue, or script a session from your terminal. - [**Claude commands**](#claude-commands-inside-a-session) - slash commands *inside* an open session. - [**Session commands**](#session-commands) - context, compaction, memory, config, permissions. - [**Context & memory**](#context--memory) - hooks, MCP, subagents. - [**Splitting a session**](#splitting-a-session) - the four commands that all sound like "copy this conversation". - [**Removed commands**](#removed-commands) - what older guides still tell you to type. ## Command cheatsheet (when you’re stuck) ### `Ctrl+C` - Interrupts a running operation. - If nothing is running: first press clears input, second press exits. --- ### `Esc` - Interrupts Claude mid-response / mid-tool-call so you can redirect. - If a dialog is open (permissions / menus), `Esc` closes the dialog instead. --- ### `Esc` then `Esc` - If there’s text in the input: clears the draft (it’s saved; press Up to bring it back). - If the input is empty: opens the rewind menu. --- ### `Ctrl+R` Reverse-search your input history. --- ### `Ctrl+O` Toggles the transcript viewer: the tool calls, timestamps, and per-message model that the normal view collapses. This is where you look when the summary of what happened doesn't match what actually happened - including MCP calls that otherwise show up as "Called slack 3 times". --- ### `Ctrl+G` Opens your prompt - or the plan Claude just proposed - in `$EDITOR`. The most underused key in the tool: a long, structured first prompt is much easier to write in a real editor than in a terminal input, and editing the *plan* is faster than arguing with it in chat. ## Shortcuts & prefixes ### Slash commands: `/…` Start your input with `/` to run a command (or invoke a skill). --- ### Shell mode: `!…` Prefix with `!` to run a shell command; its output is added to the session.
Example ```text !git status ```
--- ### Multiline input: `\\` + `Enter` Works everywhere. It’s the portable “new line”.
Example ```text First line\ Second line ```
--- ### File mentions: `@` Type `@` for path autocomplete and file mentions.
Example ```text read @src/content/articles/claude-code-tools.md and summarize the key rules ```
--- ### Permission modes: `Shift+Tab` Cycle permission modes (`default` - manual approval, `acceptEdits`, `plan`, plus any enabled extras). ## Claude (shell) commands These run in your normal terminal. They control *how a session starts*. ### `claude` Starts an interactive session. --- ### `claude "query"` Starts interactive mode with an initial prompt.
Example ```bash claude "explain what this repo does and where the entrypoints are" ```
--- ### `claude -p "query"` Print mode: runs non-interactively, then exits.
Example ```bash claude -p "summarize the last 20 lines of this log" --output-format text ```
--- ### `claude -c` Continues the most recent conversation in the current directory. --- ### `claude --add-dir ../path` Grants file access to additional directories.
Example ```bash claude --add-dir ../shared ```
--- ### `claude --resume` / `claude -r "" "query"` Opens the session picker, or resumes one directly by ID or name. --- ### `claude --worktree [name]` Starts the session in an isolated git worktree, so two sessions can't overwrite each other's edits. Add `--tmux` to launch it in its own tmux session.
Example ```bash claude --worktree oauth --name oauth-migration ```
--- ### `claude --name ""` Names the session up front, so `--resume` lists workstreams instead of timestamps. `/rename` does the same mid-session. --- ### `claude --max-budget-usd ` Stops the run after it has spent that much - subagent spend included. The cheapest insurance in the CLI, but **print mode only**: it bounds `claude -p` runs and does nothing in an interactive session.
Example ```bash claude -p "fix the failing auth tests" --max-turns 20 --max-budget-usd 2 ```
--- ### `claude --safe-mode` / `claude --bare` `--safe-mode` disables every customization - the baseline you compare against when something is broken and you suspect your own configuration. `--bare` skips auto-discovery for the fastest possible start. ## Claude commands (inside a session) The official list is huge. These are the daily drivers. ### `/help` Shows help and available commands. --- ### `/usage` (aliases: `/cost`, `/stats`) Shows usage/cost and activity stats (and, on paid plans, breakdowns by skills/tools/plugins/MCP). --- ### `/export [filename]` Exports the current conversation as plain text.
Example ```text /export notes.txt ```
--- ### `/clear` (aliases: `/reset`, `/new`) Starts a new conversation with empty context; the previous one stays available in `/resume`.
Example ```text /clear "before-refactor" ```
--- ### `/exit` (alias: `/quit`) Exits the CLI. --- ### `/status` Opens the Status tab in Settings (version, model, account, connectivity). --- ### `/rewind` (aliases: `/checkpoint`, `/undo`) Rewinds code and/or conversation to a previous point, or summarizes from a selected message. --- ### `/plan [description]` Enters plan mode (optionally with a task description).
Example ```text /plan refactor src/lib/ without changing behavior ```
--- ### `/doctor` Diagnoses and verifies your Claude Code installation and settings (and can offer to fix issues): duplicate installs, PATH problems, unparseable settings, slow hooks, and unused skills, MCP servers, and plugins measured against what they cost you in context. It reports first and changes nothing without confirmation. --- ### `/resume [session]` (alias: `/continue`) Returns to an earlier conversation by ID, by name, or from the picker. Background sessions show up marked `bg`; a running one has to be attached or stopped from `claude agents` first. --- ### `/rename [name]` Names the current session and shows it on the prompt bar. Without a name, it generates one from the conversation. --- ### `/diff` Interactive viewer for uncommitted changes *and* per-turn diffs - left/right switches between the git diff and what each individual turn changed. --- ### `/code-review [level] [--fix] [--comment]` Reviews the current diff in a fresh subagent for correctness bugs and cleanup opportunities. `--fix` applies the findings, `--comment` posts them as inline PR comments. Its sibling `/simplify` runs four parallel agents on reuse, simplification, efficiency, and level of abstraction - and deliberately does **not** look for bugs, which is what `/code-review` is for. --- ### `/btw [question]` Asks a side question in an overlay that never enters conversation history. Use it for "what does this flag do again?" mid-task instead of spending permanent context on it. --- ### `/copy [N]` Copies the last assistant response; `/copy 2` takes the one before it. When code blocks are present you get a picker - press `w` to write the selection to a file instead of the clipboard, which is how you get output off a remote box over SSH. ## Session commands ### `/context` Shows context usage as a colored grid, with optimization suggestions and - when the conversation has run past the window - the exact number you're over by. Run it before you optimize anything. --- ### `/compact [instructions]` Summarizes the conversation to free context window space. Run it at roughly **60%** of the window rather than waiting for the automatic compaction at the limit, which tends to fire mid-task and summarize away the constraints you set at the start.
Example ```text /compact keep only decisions, file paths, and open questions ```
--- ### `/model` and `/effort [level]` `/model` switches model and saves it as your default; press `s` on a row to switch for this session only. `/effort` sets the token-spend dial - `low`, `medium`, `high`, `xhigh`, `max`, `ultracode`, or `auto` to reset to the model default. Both apply immediately, without waiting for the current response to finish. --- ### `/skills` Lists available skills. **Press `t` to sort by token count** - the fastest way to find what's inflating your startup - and `Space` to cycle a skill's visibility. `/reload-skills` re-scans the directories so edits you make on disk apply without restarting. --- ### `/init` Initializes a repo with a starter `CLAUDE.md`. --- ### `/memory` Edits/views `CLAUDE.md` memory files and auto-memory entries. --- ### `/config` (alias: `/settings`) Opens settings (or sets keys via `key=value`).
Example ```text /config theme=dark ```
--- ### `/permissions` (alias: `/allowed-tools`) Manages allow/ask/deny rules for tool permissions. ## Context & memory ### `/hooks` Shows hook configurations for tool events. --- ### `/mcp` Manages MCP server connections and authentication. --- ### `/agents` Points you at your subagent configurations. From v2.1.198 it prints a reminder to ask Claude to create or manage them, or to edit `.claude/agents/` and `~/.claude/agents/` directly; earlier versions opened an interactive editor. --- ### `/tasks` Lists background work in the current session - running shell commands and subagents, finished ones included. Also available as `/bashes`. --- ### `/insights` Generates a report over your own session history: which project areas you spend time in, how you interact, and where the friction is. It's the evidence for what to fix in your setup, rather than a guess. ## Splitting a session Four commands sound like "copy this conversation" and do four different things. Pick by where you end up, not by the verb. | Command | Where the copy runs | Where you end up | | -------------- | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------- | | `/branch` | Foreground, same terminal | You move into the branch; the original waits | | `/fork` | Background, independent | You stay; the copy never reports back | | `/subtask` | Background subagent | You stay; **the result lands in this conversation** | | `/background` | This session, detached | Terminal freed; monitor with `claude agents` | `/subtask` is the one you want when the answer matters to what you're doing now; `/fork` is the one you want when it doesn't. Both need v2.1.212 or later - on builds between v2.1.161 and v2.1.211, `/fork` behaves like today's `/subtask`. ## Removed commands Two commands still turn up in guides written against older builds: - **`/vim`** - removed in v2.1.92. Toggle Vim editing from `/config` → **Editor mode**, or set `editorMode: "vim"` in settings. - **`/pr-comments`** - removed in v2.1.91. Ask Claude to read the PR comments directly, or use `/code-review --comment` to write them. Which is the general lesson: the tool ships several releases a week, so `/help` is the authoritative list for the build you actually have, and `/release-notes` tells you when something changed. ## Bottom line If you only memorize a few: **`Esc` interrupts, `Esc Esc` rewinds, `/export` saves, `/rewind` restores, `/context` tells you what’s filling the window.** Related notes: [effort vs fast mode](/notes/effort-vs-fast-mode), [plan mode decision tree](/notes/plan-mode-decision-tree), [verify before done](/notes/verify-before-done). Three habits turn that into a workflow. Compact at around 60% of the window rather than at the limit. Reach for `/rewind` instead of stacking "that didn't work, try this instead" on top of a context that now contains the failed attempt as an example. And name every session, so `/resume` is a list of workstreams rather than a wall of timestamps. Sources: - Slash commands — the full built-in command list: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/commands - Interactive mode — keyboard shortcuts, prefixes, and multiline input: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/interactive-mode - CLI reference — flags, print mode, and output formats: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cli-reference - Checkpointing — /rewind and restoring conversation or code: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/checkpointing - Choose a permission mode — Shift+Tab and /plan: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes