CLI REFERENCE

Claude Code CLI Commands & Flags

The command-line interface — commands to start, pipe, resume, and manage sessions, plus the flags worth memorizing. Grouped so they stick; see the memory aids at the bottom.

Start here — the essentials

If you remember nothing else, remember these six.

claude

Start an interactive session.

the default

claude -c

Continue the most recent conversation here.

-c = continue

claude -r "name"

Resume a specific session by name or ID.

-r = resume

claude -p "query"

Print (headless): answer once and exit — for pipes & scripts.

-p = print/pipe

claude update

Update to the latest version.

stay current

claude mcp

Configure MCP servers.

tools & integrations

Commands

claude <command> — start sessions, authenticate, manage background agents, and configure MCP/plugins.

Start & query

claude

Start an interactive session.

claude

claude "query"

Start interactive with an initial prompt.

claude "explain this project"

claude -p "query"

Headless / print mode: query, print the result, then exit.

claude -p "explain this function"

cat file | claude -p "query"

Pipe content in and process it headlessly.

cat logs.txt | claude -p "explain"

Continue & resume

Three ways back into work: continue the last one, or resume a named/ID'd one.

claude -c

Continue the most recent conversation in this directory.

claude -c

claude -c -p "query"

Continue the last conversation, headlessly.

claude -c -p "Check for type errors"

claude -r "<session>" "query"

Resume a session by ID or name and send a prompt.

claude -r "auth-refactor" "Finish this PR"

Auth (like git remote auth)

claude auth login

claude auth login --console

claude auth logout

Log out of your Anthropic account.

claude auth logout

claude auth status

Auth status as JSON (--text for readable). Exits 0 if logged in, 1 if not.

claude auth status

claude setup-token

Generate a long-lived OAuth token for CI/scripts (prints, doesn't save). Needs a subscription.

claude setup-token

Install & update

claude update

Update to the latest version.

claude update

claude install [version]

Install/reinstall the native binary — a version, stable, or latest.

claude install stable

Background sessions (agent view) — think mini job control

Manage parallel background agents the way you'd manage OS jobs: list, attach, log, stop, remove, restart.

claude agents

Open agent view to monitor/dispatch parallel sessions. --json for scripting; --cwd, --model, --permission-mode, --effort, --agent set defaults.

claude agents --json

claude attach <id>

Attach to a background session in this terminal.

claude attach 7c5dcf5d

claude logs <id>

Print recent output from a background session.

claude logs 7c5dcf5d

claude respawn <id>

Restart a session (running or stopped) with its conversation intact. --all for every one.

claude respawn 7c5dcf5d

claude stop <id>

Stop a background session. Also claude kill.

claude stop 7c5dcf5d

claude rm <id>

Remove a session from the list. Transcript stays and is resumable.

claude rm 7c5dcf5d

claude daemon status

Supervisor state, version, socket dir, worker count. Exits 1 if not running.

claude daemon status

claude daemon stop --any

Stop the supervisor and its sessions. --keep-workers leaves sessions running.

claude daemon stop --any --keep-workers

MCP & plugins

claude mcp

Configure Model Context Protocol servers.

add / list / get / remove

claude mcp login <name>

Run an MCP server's OAuth flow from the CLI. --no-browser over SSH. (v2.1.186+)

claude mcp login sentry

claude mcp logout <name>

Clear stored OAuth credentials for an MCP server. (v2.1.186+)

claude mcp logout sentry

claude plugin

Manage plugins (alias claude plugins).

claude plugin install code-review@claude-plugins-official

Admin & housekeeping

claude gateway --config gateway.yaml

Start the self-hosted Claude apps gateway (admin SSO/policy for Bedrock/Vertex/Foundry). (v2.1.195+)

enterprise deploys

claude remote-control

Start a Remote Control server to drive Claude from Claude.ai or the app.

claude remote-control --name "My Project"

claude project purge [path]

Delete all local state for a project. --dry-run previews, -y skips confirm, --all for every project.

claude project purge ~/work/repo --dry-run

claude auto-mode defaults

Print the built-in auto-mode classifier rules as JSON.

claude auto-mode defaults > rules.json

claude ultrareview [target]

Run ultrareview non-interactively. --json for raw payload, --timeout <min>. Exits 0/1.

claude ultrareview 1234 --json

Flags

claude --help doesn't list every flag — absence from --help doesn't mean it's unavailable. A curated, memorable set:

Session control

The short flags spell what they do: -p print, -c continue, -r resume.

-p, --print

Headless: print the response and exit. Pairs with pipes and CI.

claude -p "..."

-c, --continue

Load the most recent conversation in this directory.

claude --continue

-r, --resume

Resume a specific session by ID or name.

claude -r "auth-refactor"

--model

Model for this session (overrides the model setting).

claude --model claude-sonnet-5

--effort

Effort level: low/medium/high/xhigh/max (session only, doesn't persist).

claude --effort high

--agent

Use a specific agent for the session (overrides the agent setting).

claude --agent my-custom-agent

--permission-mode

Start in a permission mode: plan, acceptEdits, auto, bypassPermissions.

claude --permission-mode plan

Permissions & file access

--add-dir

Add extra working directories to read/edit. Grants file access, not .claude/ config.

claude --add-dir ../apps ../lib

--allowedTools / --allowed-tools

Tools that run without a permission prompt.

"Bash(git log *)" "Read"

--disallowedTools / --disallowed-tools

Deny rules. A bare name removes the tool from context; a scoped rule denies only matching calls.

"Bash(rm *)" "Edit"

--dangerously-skip-permissions

Skip all permission prompts. Equals --permission-mode bypassPermissions.

"dangerous" ⇒ prefix

--allow-dangerously-skip-permissions

Add bypass to the Shift+Tab cycle without starting in it.

start in plan, switch later

Prompt & subagents

--append-system-prompt

Append custom text to the end of the system prompt.

--append-system-prompt "Always use TypeScript"

--append-system-prompt-file

Append system-prompt text loaded from a file.

--append-system-prompt-file ./extra-rules.txt

--agents

Define custom subagents inline via JSON (same fields as frontmatter + prompt).

--agents '{"reviewer":{...}}'

Speed & scripting

--bare

Minimal mode: skip auto-discovery of hooks/skills/plugins/MCP/CLAUDE.md so scripts start fast. Bash + read + edit only.

claude --bare -p "query"

--bg, --background

Start as a background agent and return immediately. Can't combine with -p.

claude --bg "investigate the flaky test"

--json

On subcommands (agents, auth status, ultrareview): machine-readable output for scripting.

claude agents --json

Debug & diagnostics

--debug

Debug mode with optional category filter, e.g. "api,mcp" or "!statsig".

claude --debug "api,mcp"

--debug-file <path>

Write debug logs to a file (implicitly enables debug).

claude --debug-file /tmp/claude-debug.log

--disable-slash-commands

Disable all skills and commands for the session.

claude --disable-slash-commands

Tooling & integrations

--advisor <model>

Enable the server-side advisor tool: opus, sonnet, or fable. (v2.1.98+)

claude --advisor opus

--betas

Beta headers to include on API requests (API-key users only).

claude --betas interleaved-thinking

--chrome

Enable Chrome browser integration for web automation/testing.

claude --chrome

--cloud

Create a new web session on claude.ai with the given task.

claude --cloud "Fix the login bug"

--ax-screen-reader

Screen-reader-friendly flat output (no borders/animations). (v2.1.181+)

claude --ax-screen-reader

Deep dive: --dangerously-skip-permissions vs -p --bare

Both are common in automation, but they strip away different layers. --dangerously-skip-permissions suppresses permission prompts; -p --bare minimizes the startup environment. Knowing which does what is the difference between a script that runs and one that hangs.

claude --dangerously-skip-permissions

The autonomous hammer — controls behavior, not startup.

What it does: Sets the permission tier to bypassPermissions. Claude reads/writes files and runs bash commands without ever asking for approval.

The catch: The full feature set stays on: it scans for CLAUDE.md, loads plugins/skills, reads settings and conversation history, and uses your OAuth / Keychain credentials.

claude -p "…" --bare

The scripting engine — optimizes startup for raw speed & isolation.

What it does: Skips the heavy discovery phase: no hooks, skills, plugins, MCP, auto-memory, or CLAUDE.md. -p runs one-shot (headless). Community reports it also leans on ANTHROPIC_API_KEY rather than OAuth/Keychain.

The catch: Permissions are NOT bypassed. If Claude tries to run a command, it still asks — so in a non-interactive pipe it will hang or fail unless you add a permission flag.

Capability	--dangerously-skip-permissions	-p --bare
Primary goal	Stop permission-prompt fatigue	Fast, clean, isolated script runs
Interactive UI	Yes — standard TTY terminal	No — one-shot execution
Prompts / approvals	Bypassed — 100% autonomous	Active — still needs approvals
Auth source	System Keychain / web OAuth	`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` env var
Reads project context	Yes — `CLAUDE.md` & history	No — clean slate
Speeds up startup	No	Yes — skips lookups

The “perfect” headless recipe

For a CI/CD job or cron task that must run fast, without human auth, and fully autonomously, neither flag is enough alone — combine all three.

claude -p "Refactor the helper functions in src/utils.ts" --bare --dangerously-skip-permissions

--bare — skips browser popups and boots instantly.
-p — pipes your direct text request in and runs one-shot.
--dangerously-skip-permissions — stops it freezing while it waits for a human to type “yes”.

Make it stick

The short flags spell themselves: -p = print (headless), -c = continue (most recent), -r = resume (by name/ID).
Background = mini job control: agents (list) · attach · logs · stop/kill · rm · respawn — the same verbs you'd use on OS jobs.
Auth mirrors git: claude auth login / logout / status, plus setup-token for CI.
**Anything risky starts with --dangerously-…** (e.g. --dangerously-skip-permissions). Easy to spot in scripts and reviews.
Headless recipe: claude -p "…" --output-format json for scripts; add --bare to skip discovery and start faster.
Mistype a subcommand and Claude suggests the closest match (claude udpate → “Did you mean claude update?”) and exits without starting.

Summarized from the official Claude Code CLI reference (code.claude.com/docs/en/cli-reference) for study. A curated selection — check the live docs for the full command and flag list.

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KEEP EXPLORINGBrowse the full study guide ↗Review the certification cheat sheet ↗Try a Claude practice exam ↗

OFFICIAL REFERENCEClaude Code CLI reference ↗

Independent study notes. Consult the official documentation for current product behavior and exam requirements.

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