Claude Code Cheat Sheet

Claude Code v2.1.84 Last updated: March 27, 2026
📋 Recent Changes ✕
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts
General Controls
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
Mode Switching
ShiftTab Cycle permission modes
AltP Switch model
AltT Toggle thinking
AltO Toggle fast modeNEW
Input
\Enter Newline (quick)
CtrlJ Newline (control seq)
Prefixes
/ Slash command
! Direct bash
@ File mention + autocomplete
Session Picker
↑↓ Navigate
←→ Expand/collapse
P Preview
R Rename
/ Search
A All projects
B Current branch
Transcript Mode (Ctrl+O)
/ Search transcriptNEW
N / ⇧N Next/prev match
CtrlE Toggle show all
Q / Esc Exit transcript
🔌 MCP Servers
Add Servers
--transport http Remote HTTP (recommended)
--transport stdio Local process
--transport sse Remote SSE
Scopes
Local ~/.claude.json (you only)
Project .mcp.json (shared/VCS)
User ~/.claude.json (global)
Manage
/mcp Interactive UI
claude mcp list List all servers
claude mcp serve CC as MCP server
Elicitation Servers request input mid-taskNEW
⚡ Slash Commands
Session
/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
/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
Tools
/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
Special
/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! 🎉
📁 Memory & Files
CLAUDE.md Locations
./CLAUDE.md Project (team-shared)
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md Personal (all projects)
/etc/claude-code/ Managed (org-wide)
Rules & Import
.claude/rules/*.md Project rules
~/.claude/rules/*.md User rules
paths: frontmatter Path-specific rules
@path/to/file Import in CLAUDE.md
Auto Memory
~/.claude/projects/<proj>/memory/
MEMORY.md + topic files, auto-loaded (25KB/200 lines max)
🧠 Workflows & Tips
Plan Mode
ShiftTab Normal → Auto-Accept → Plan
--permission-mode plan Start in plan mode
Thinking & Effort
AltT Toggle thinking on/off
"ultrathink" Max effort for turn
CtrlO See thinking (verbose)
/effort ○ low · ◐ medium · ● high · ★ max
Git Worktrees
--worktree name Isolated branch per feature
isolation: worktree Agent in own worktree
sparsePaths Checkout only needed dirsNEW
/batch Auto-creates worktrees
Voice Mode
/voice Enable push-to-talk
Space (hold) Record, release to send
20 languages EN, ES, FR, DE, CZ, PL…
Context Management
/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!
Session Power Moves
claude -c Continue last conv
claude -r "name" Resume by name
/btw question Side Q, no context cost
SDK / Headless
claude -p "query" Non-interactive
--output-format json Structured output
--max-budget-usd 5 Cost cap
cat file | claude -p Pipe input
Scheduling & Remote
/loop 5m msg Recurring task
/rc Remote control
--remote Web session on claude.ai
⚙️ Config & Env
Config Files
~/.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
Key Settings
modelOverrides Map model picker → custom IDs
autoMemoryDirectory Custom memory dir
worktree.sparsePaths Sparse checkout dirsNEW
sandbox.failIfUnavailable Exit if sandbox failsNEW
Key Env Vars
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 subprocsNEW
CLAUDECODE Detect CC shell (=1)
🔧 Skills & Agents
Built-in Skills
/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
Custom Skill Locations
.claude/skills/<name>/ Project skills
~/.claude/skills/<name>/ Personal skills
Skill Frontmatter
description Auto-invocation trigger
allowed-tools Skip permission prompts
model Override model for skill
effort Override effort levelNEW
context: fork Run in subagent
$ARGUMENTS User input placeholder
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} Skill's own directory
!`cmd` Dynamic context injection
Built-in Agents
Explore Fast read-only (Haiku)
Plan Research for plan mode
General Full tools, complex tasks
Bash Terminal separate context
Agent Frontmatter
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
🖥️ CLI & Flags
Core Commands
claude Interactive
claude "q" With prompt
claude -p "q" Headless
claude -c Continue last
claude -r "n" Resume
claude update Update
Key Flags
--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