Basic Navigation

/help                     # Show help and available commands
/exit                     # Exit the REPL
/clear                    # Clear conversation history
/config                   # Open config panel
/doctor                   # Check Claude Code installation health

Basic File Operations

# Print mode (SDK) - execute and exit
claude -p "explain this function"

# Process piped content
cat logs.txt | claude -p "explain"

# Continue most recent conversation
claude -c

# Continue via SDK
claude -c -p "Check for type errors"

Session Management

# Resume session by ID
claude -r "abc123" "Finish this PR"

# Resume with flag
claude --resume abc123 "query"

# Continue session
claude --continue

Keyboard Shortcuts

Ctrl+C                    # Cancel current operation
Ctrl+D                    # Exit Claude Code
Tab                       # Auto-complete
Up/Down                   # Navigate command history

🟡 Level 2: Intermediate Commands

Configuration and model management

Model Configuration

# Switch models
claude --model sonnet                    # Use Sonnet model
claude --model opus                      # Use Opus model
claude --model claude-sonnet-4-20250514  # Use specific model version

Directory Management

# Add additional working directories
claude --add-dir ../apps ../lib

# Validate directory paths
claude --add-dir /path/to/project

Output Formatting

# Different output formats
claude -p "query" --output-format json
claude -p "query" --output-format text
claude -p "query" --output-format stream-json

# Input formatting
claude -p --input-format stream-json

Session Control

# Limit conversation turns
claude -p --max-turns 3 "query"

# Verbose logging
claude --verbose

# Session cost and duration
/cos                      # Show total cost and duration

🟠 Level 3: Advanced Commands

Tools and permission management

Tool Management

# Allow specific tools without prompting
claude --allowedTools "Bash(git log:*)" "Bash(git diff:*)" "Write"

# Disallow specific tools
claude --disallowedTools "Bash(rm:*)" "Bash(sudo:*)"

# Prompt for specific tool permission
claude -p --permission-prompt-tool mcp_auth_tool "query"

# Skip all permission prompts (dangerous)
claude --dangerously-skip-permissions

Slash Commands - Session Management

/compact [instructions]   # Summarize conversation with optional instructions
/clear                    # Reset conversation history and context
/exit                     # Exit the REPL
/help                     # Show available commands
/config                   # Open configuration panel

Slash Commands - System

/doctor                   # Check installation health
/cos                      # Show cost and duration of current session
/ide                      # Manage IDE integrations

🔴 Level 4: Expert Commands

MCP and advanced integrations

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

# Configure MCP servers
claude --mcp

# MCP server management (via slash commands)
/mcp                      # Access MCP functionality

Advanced Piping

# Complex piping operations
git log --oneline | claude -p "summarize these commits"
cat error.log | claude -p "find the root cause"
ls -la | claude -p "explain this directory structure"

Programmatic Usage

# JSON output for scripting
claude -p "analyze code" --output-format json

# Stream JSON for real-time processing
claude -p "large task" --output-format stream-json

# Batch processing
claude -p --max-turns 1 "quick query"

🔵 Level 5: Power User Commands

Advanced workflows and automation

Custom Slash Commands

# Create custom commands in .claude/commands/
# Example: .claude/commands/debug.md
/debug                    # Execute custom debug command
/test                     # Execute custom test command
/deploy                   # Execute custom deploy command

Complex Tool Combinations

# Advanced tool permissions
claude --allowedTools "Bash(git:*)" "Write" "Read" \
       --disallowedTools "Bash(rm:*)" "Bash(sudo:*)"

# Multiple directory access
claude --add-dir ../frontend ../backend ../shared

Performance Optimization

# Limit context for performance
claude -p --max-turns 5 "focused query"

# Clear context frequently
/clear                    # Use between tasks for better performance

# Compact conversations
/compact "keep only important parts"

🟣 Level 6: Master Commands

Expert automation and custom workflows

Advanced Configuration

# Complex model and tool configuration
claude --model claude-sonnet-4-20250514 \
       --add-dir ../apps ../lib ../tools \
       --allowedTools "Bash(git:*)" "Write" "Read" \
       --verbose \
       --output-format json

Automation Scripts

# Scripted Claude interactions
#!/bin/bash
claude -p "analyze codebase" --output-format json > analysis.json
claude -p "generate tests" --max-turns 3 --output-format text > tests.txt

Advanced Session Management

# Session ID management
SESSION_ID=$(claude -p "start analysis" --output-format json | jq -r '.session_id')
claude -r "$SESSION_ID" "continue analysis"

Complex Workflows

# Multi-step automation
claude -p "analyze project structure" | \
claude -p "suggest improvements" | \
claude -p "create implementation plan"

🟤 Level 7: Workflow Automation

Advanced automation patterns and multi-step processes

Automated Code Review Workflows

# Automated PR review process
#!/bin/bash
git diff HEAD~1 | claude -p "review this PR for security issues" > security_review.md
git diff HEAD~1 | claude -p "check for performance issues" > performance_review.md
git diff HEAD~1 | claude -p "suggest improvements" > improvements.md

Continuous Integration Integration

# CI/CD pipeline integration
claude -p "analyze test coverage" --output-format json | jq '.coverage_percentage'
claude -p "generate release notes from commits" --max-turns 2 > RELEASE_NOTES.md

Batch Processing Workflows

# Process multiple files
find . -name "*.js" -exec claude -p "analyze this file for bugs: {}" \; > bug_report.txt

# Automated documentation generation
for file in src/*.py; do
    claude -p "generate docstring for $file" --output-format text >> docs.md
done

⚫ Level 8: Integration & Ecosystem

IDE integrations, Git workflows, and third-party tool connections

IDE Integration Commands

# VS Code integration
/ide vscode                # Configure VS Code integration
/ide configure             # Setup IDE configurations

# Custom IDE commands
claude --ide-mode "explain selected code"
claude --ide-mode "refactor this function"

Git Workflow Integration

# Git hooks integration
claude -p "create pre-commit hook for code quality" > .git/hooks/pre-commit

# Advanced Git operations
git log --oneline -10 | claude -p "create changelog from these commits"
git diff --name-only | claude -p "explain what changed in this commit"

Third-Party Tool Connections

# Database integration
mysql -e "SHOW TABLES" | claude -p "analyze database structure"

# Docker integration
docker ps | claude -p "analyze running containers"
docker logs container_name | claude -p "find errors in logs"

⚪ Level 9: Performance & Optimization

Advanced performance tuning, resource management, and efficiency tips

Memory & Resource Management

# Optimize memory usage
claude -p --max-turns 1 "quick analysis"      # Single turn for efficiency
claude -p --compact-mode "analyze with minimal context"

# Resource monitoring
/cos                       # Check current session costs
/doctor --performance      # Performance diagnostics

Caching & Optimization

# Efficient session reuse
claude -c "continue previous analysis"         # Reuse existing context
claude --cache-results "repetitive task"      # Cache common operations

# Parallel processing
claude -p "task 1" & claude -p "task 2" & wait  # Parallel execution

Large-Scale Processing

# Handle large codebases efficiently
claude --add-dir . --max-context 50000 "analyze entire project"
claude --stream-output "process large dataset" | head -100

🔘 Level 10: Enterprise & Production

Production-ready configurations, team workflows, and enterprise features

Team Collaboration

# Shared team configurations
claude --config-file team-c