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CLI Reference ​

Claude Code provides a powerful command-line interface (CLI) that lets you interact with Claude directly from the terminal. This guide details all available CLI commands and options.

Installation and Setup ​

Install CLI ​

bash
# Install globally with npm
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Or with yarn
yarn global add @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Verify installation
claude --version

Initialize Configuration ​

bash
# Configure API key on first run
claude init

# Specify configuration file path
claude init --config ~/.claude/config.json

Core Commands ​

claude chat ​

Start an interactive conversation session.

bash
# Basic usage
claude chat

# Specify model
claude chat --model claude-sonnet-4

# Use system prompt
claude chat --system "You are a Python expert"

# Load context from files
claude chat --context ./src/**/*.py

Options:

  • --model, -m <model> - Specify model to use (default: claude-sonnet-4)
  • --system, -s <prompt> - Set system prompt
  • --context, -c <pattern> - Load files as context
  • --max-tokens <number> - Set max output tokens
  • --temperature <number> - Set temperature parameter (0.0-1.0)
  • --stream - Enable streaming output (default on)
  • --no-stream - Disable streaming output

claude ask ​

Send a single query and get a response.

bash
# Basic query
claude ask "How to read a JSON file in Python?"

# Include file context
claude ask "What's wrong with this code?" --file ./src/main.py

# Use pipe input
cat error.log | claude ask "Analyze this error log"

# Output to file
claude ask "Generate a React component" > Component.jsx

Options:

  • --file, -f <path> - Include file content as context
  • --output, -o <path> - Save response to file
  • --json - Output response in JSON format
  • --quiet, -q - Quiet mode, only output response content

claude code ​

Work in codebase context.

bash
# Start code session in current directory
claude code

# Specify project directory
claude code --project ./my-app

# Auto-analyze codebase
claude code --analyze

# Execute specific task
claude code --task "Refactor auth module"

Options:

  • --project, -p <path> - Specify project root directory
  • --analyze - Auto-analyze codebase structure
  • --task, -t <description> - Execute specific task
  • --watch - Watch file changes
  • --exclude <pattern> - Exclude file patterns

claude review ​

Code review functionality.

bash
# Review a single file
claude review ./src/api.ts

# Review entire directory
claude review ./src --recursive

# Review Git changes
claude review --git-diff

# Generate review report
claude review ./src --output review-report.md

Options:

  • --recursive, -r - Recursively review subdirectories
  • --git-diff - Review uncommitted Git changes
  • --severity <level> - Set report severity level (info/warning/error)
  • --format <type> - Output format (text/json/markdown)

claude test ​

Generate and run tests.

bash
# Generate tests for a file
claude test generate ./src/utils.ts

# Run tests and analyze failures
claude test analyze

# Fix failed tests
claude test fix --file ./tests/api.test.ts

Options:

  • generate - Generate test cases
  • analyze - Analyze test results
  • fix - Fix failed tests
  • --framework <name> - Specify test framework (jest/vitest/mocha)

claude refactor ​

Code refactoring tool.

bash
# Refactor function
claude refactor --function calculateTotal --file ./src/cart.ts

# Extract component
claude refactor --extract-component UserProfile --file ./src/App.tsx

# Rename variable
claude refactor --rename oldName:newName --file ./src/index.ts

Options:

  • --function <name> - Refactor specified function
  • --extract-component <name> - Extract React component
  • --rename <old:new> - Rename symbol
  • --dry-run - Preview changes without applying

Configuration Management ​

claude config ​

Manage CLI configuration.

bash
# View current configuration
claude config list

# Set configuration item
claude config set api_key YOUR_API_KEY
claude config set default_model claude-sonnet-4

# Get configuration item
claude config get api_key

# Delete configuration item
claude config unset api_key

# Reset all configuration
claude config reset

Common configuration items:

  • api_key - Anthropic API key
  • default_model - Default model to use
  • max_tokens - Default max tokens
  • temperature - Default temperature parameter
  • editor - Preferred editor
  • theme - CLI theme (light/dark)

Configuration File Locations ​

bash
# macOS/Linux
~/.config/claude/config.json

# Windows
%APPDATA%\claude\config.json

# Custom location
export CLAUDE_CONFIG_PATH=/path/to/config.json

Advanced Features ​

Using Prompt Templates ​

bash
# Create prompt template
claude template create code-review

# Use template
claude ask --template code-review --file ./src/api.ts

# List all templates
claude template list

# Edit template
claude template edit code-review

Session Management ​

bash
# Save session
claude chat --save-session my-session

# Load session
claude chat --load-session my-session

# List all sessions
claude session list

# Delete session
claude session delete my-session

# Export session
claude session export my-session --output session.json

Batch Processing Mode ​

bash
# Read multiple queries from file
claude batch --input queries.txt

# Parallel processing
claude batch --input queries.txt --parallel 5

# Output to directory
claude batch --input queries.txt --output-dir ./results

Environment Variables ​

bash
# API key
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_api_key

# Custom configuration path
export CLAUDE_CONFIG_PATH=/path/to/config.json

# Default model
export CLAUDE_DEFAULT_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4

# Log level
export CLAUDE_LOG_LEVEL=debug

# Proxy settings
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080

Output Formats ​

JSON Output ​

bash
# Get JSON format response
claude ask "What is a REST API?" --json

# Output example
{
  "id": "msg_123",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4",
  "content": "REST API is...",
  "usage": {
    "input_tokens": 15,
    "output_tokens": 250
  }
}

Markdown Output ​

bash
# Generate Markdown documentation
claude ask "Create API documentation" --format markdown > API.md

Debugging and Logging ​

Enable Verbose Logging ​

bash
# Debug mode
claude --debug chat

# Specify log level
claude --log-level debug ask "Test query"

# Save logs to file
claude --log-file ./claude.log chat

View Request Details ​

bash
# Show API request details
claude --verbose ask "Test"

# Output includes:
# - Request parameters
# - Response headers
# - Token usage
# - Response time

Plugin System ​

Install Plugins ​

bash
# Install official plugin
claude plugin install @claude/git-tools

# Install community plugin
claude plugin install claude-plugin-docker

# Install from local
claude plugin install ./my-plugin

Manage Plugins ​

bash
# List installed plugins
claude plugin list

# Enable/disable plugins
claude plugin enable git-tools
claude plugin disable git-tools

# Update plugins
claude plugin update git-tools

# Uninstall plugins
claude plugin uninstall git-tools

Practical Examples ​

Code Generation Workflow ​

bash
# 1. Analyze requirements
claude ask "I need a user authentication API" --save-context

# 2. Generate code
claude code --task "Implement JWT authentication" --output ./src/auth

# 3. Generate tests
claude test generate ./src/auth/*.ts

# 4. Review code
claude review ./src/auth --format markdown > review.md

Git Integration Workflow ​

bash
# 1. Review changes
claude review --git-diff

# 2. Generate commit message
git diff | claude ask "Generate commit message" --quiet

# 3. Code review
claude review --git-diff --severity error

Documentation Generation ​

bash
# Generate README
claude ask "Generate README for this project" \
  --context "./src/**/*.ts" \
  --output README.md

# Generate API documentation
claude ask "Generate API documentation" \
  --file ./src/api.ts \
  --format markdown \
  --output API.md

Performance Optimization ​

Caching Strategy ​

bash
# Enable prompt caching
claude chat --cache-prompts

# Set cache TTL
claude config set cache_ttl 3600

Concurrency Control ​

bash
# Limit concurrent requests
claude batch --parallel 3 --input queries.txt

# Set request interval
claude batch --delay 1000 --input queries.txt

Troubleshooting ​

Common Issues ​

API key error:

bash
# Verify API key
claude config get api_key

# Reset
claude config set api_key YOUR_NEW_KEY

Network issues:

bash
# Use proxy
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080
claude chat

# Increase timeout
claude --timeout 60000 ask "query"

Permission issues:

bash
# Check configuration file permissions
ls -la ~/.config/claude/

# Fix permissions
chmod 600 ~/.config/claude/config.json

Best Practices ​

  1. Use configuration files: Save common settings to configuration files
  2. Leverage templates: Create prompt templates for repetitive tasks
  3. Session management: Save important conversations for future reference
  4. Context optimization: Only include relevant files to reduce token usage
  5. Batch processing: Use batch mode for multiple similar tasks
  6. Version control: Include generated code in version control
  7. Security: Don't expose API keys directly in command line

Update and Maintenance ​

bash
# Check for updates
claude --version
npm outdated -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Update to latest version
npm update -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Clear cache
claude cache clear

Getting Help ​

bash
# View help
claude --help

# View specific command help
claude chat --help
claude ask --help

# View version info
claude --version

# View diagnostic info
claude doctor

Released under the MIT License.

© 2026-present MIT License