markus41/plugins/claude-code-expert/archive/v7.6.0/skills/cli-reference

Claude Code CLI Reference

Complete reference for the Claude Code command-line interface.

Installation

System Requirements

• macOS 13.0+, Windows 10 1809+, Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 10+, Alpine 3.19+
• 4GB+ RAM
• Internet connection required
• Shell: Bash, Zsh, PowerShell, CMD
• Windows: Git for Windows required

Methods

# Native (Recommended)
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Homebrew (macOS)
brew install --cask claude-code

# WinGet (Windows)
winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode

# npm (legacy)
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Direct invocation
npx @anthropic-ai/claude-code

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

Initial Login

claude     # First run opens browser for login

Supports: Claude Pro, Teams, Enterprise, Console, Bedrock, Vertex AI, Foundry. Credentials stored at ~/.claude.json.

Basic Usage

# Interactive mode (default)
claude

# Start with initial prompt
claude "explain this codebase"

# Non-interactive / print mode
claude -p "what does this function do?"

# Pipe input
cat file.ts | claude -p "review this code"

# Resume last conversation
claude --continue

# Resume specific conversation
claude --resume <session-id>

CLI Flags

Session Management Flags

| Flag | Short | Description | |------|-------|-------------| | --help | -h | Show help message | | --version | -v | Show version number | | --print | -p | Non-interactive mode: print response and exit | | --verbose | | Enable verbose/debug logging | | --debug [category] | | Debug logging for specific category | | --model | -m | Override model (e.g., sonnet, opus, haiku) | | --continue | -c | Resume most recent conversation | | --resume | -r | Resume specific conversation by ID | | --fork-session | | Create new session from current context | | --teleport | | Resume a web session locally | | --remote "task" | | Create cloud session | | --worktree | -w | Run in isolated git worktree |

Output & Format Flags

| Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | --output-format | Output format: text (default), json, stream-json | | --max-turns | Maximum conversation turns in non-interactive mode | | --max-budget-usd | Spending limit per session | | --no-input | Skip initial user input (for piped content) | | --input-format | Input format: text (default), stream-json | | --json-schema | Structured output with JSON schema (print mode) |

Permission & Security Flags

| Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | --dangerously-skip-permissions | Skip all permission prompts (use with caution) | | --allowedTools | Comma-separated list of allowed tools | | --disallowedTools | Comma-separated list of disallowed tools | | --permission-mode | Permission mode: default, plan, acceptEdits, dontAsk, bypassPermissions | | --permission-prompt-tool | MCP tool for handling permission prompts |

Configuration Flags

| Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | --system-prompt | Override entire system prompt (use with -p) | | --append-system-prompt | Append text to system prompt | | --system-prompt-file | Load system prompt from file | | --append-system-prompt-file | Append system prompt from file | | --mcp-config | Path to MCP config JSON file | | --settings | Load settings from file or JSON string | | --agents | Define custom agents as JSON | | --plugin-dir | Load plugin from directory (repeatable) | | --add-dir | Add additional working directories to context | | --init | Run initialization hooks | | --maintenance | Run maintenance hooks |

PR & Review Flags

| Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | --from-pr <url> | Load PR context from GitHub URL | | --fallback-model | Fallback model if primary unavailable |

Agent Team Flags

| Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | --teammate-mode | Run as part of an agent team | | --chrome | Enable Chrome browser for agent | | --no-chrome | Disable Chrome browser | | --strict-mcp-config | Fail on invalid MCP config | | --setting-sources | Show which file each setting comes from | | --include-partial-messages | Include partial messages in stream output | | --betas | Enable beta features | | --no-session-persistence | Disable session persistence | | --allow-dangerously-skip-permissions | Allow skipping permissions programmatically |

Auth CLI

claude auth login              # Login to Anthropic
claude auth logout             # Logout
claude auth status             # Show auth status

claude agents                  # Manage agent teams
claude update                  # Update Claude Code

claude mcp add-json <name> <json>   # Add MCP from JSON blob
claude mcp add-from-claude-desktop  # Import from Claude Desktop

Session ID Flags

| Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | --session-id | Set specific session ID | | --conversation-id | Set conversation ID within session |

Environment Variables

Authentication

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | ANTHROPIC_API_KEY | API key for Anthropic direct access | | ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN | OAuth/bearer token for API access | | CLAUDE_CODE_API_KEY | Alternative API key variable |

Provider Selection

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK | 1 to use AWS Bedrock | | CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX | 1 to use Google Vertex AI | | ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL | Custom API base URL |

AWS Bedrock Configuration

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | ANTHROPIC_BEDROCK_BASE_URL | Bedrock endpoint URL | | AWS_REGION | AWS region for Bedrock | | AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID | AWS access key | | AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY | AWS secret key | | AWS_SESSION_TOKEN | AWS session token (for temporary creds) | | AWS_PROFILE | AWS profile name | | ANTHROPIC_MODEL | Override model ID for Bedrock |

Google Vertex Configuration

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_PROJECT_ID | GCP project ID | | CLOUD_ML_REGION | GCP region | | ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_BASE_URL | Custom Vertex endpoint |

Model Overrides

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | ANTHROPIC_MODEL | Override default model ID | | ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL | Override Sonnet model ID | | ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL | Override Opus model ID | | CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL | Reasoning effort: low, medium, high |

Behavior Configuration

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | DISABLE_AUTOMEMORY | 1 to disable auto-memory | | DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER | 1 to disable auto-updates | | DISABLE_BUG_COMMAND | 1 to disable /bug command | | CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS | Override max output tokens | | CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC | 1 to disable telemetry | | CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY | Enable OpenTelemetry | | CLAUDE_CODE_SKIP_DOCTOR | 1 to skip doctor checks | | CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_FAST_MODE | Disable fast Opus mode | | CLAUDE_CODE_SIMPLE | Use minimal system prompt | | CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_1M_CONTEXT | Disable large context window | | CLAUDE_CODE_SHELL | Override shell detection | | BASH_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS | Bash command timeout in ms | | MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_TOKENS | MCP tool output token limit | | SLASH_COMMAND_TOOL_CHAR_BUDGET | Skill character budget |

Directory Overrides

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR | Custom config directory location | | CLAUDE_CODE_TMPDIR | Override temporary directory |

Cloud Provider: Microsoft Foundry

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY | 1 to use Microsoft Foundry |

Agent Teams & Advanced

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS | Enable agent teams feature | | CLAUDE_CODE_TEAM_NAME | Team name for agent teams | | CLAUDE_CODE_PLAN_MODE_REQUIRED | Require plan mode for teammates | | CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_CRON | Disable background cron tasks | | CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKS | Disable all background tasks | | CLAUDE_CODE_SHELL_PREFIX | Prefix for shell commands |

mTLS & Client Certificates

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | CLAUDE_CODE_CLIENT_CERT | Client certificate path for mTLS | | CLAUDE_CODE_CLIENT_KEY | Client private key path | | CLAUDE_CODE_CLIENT_KEY_PASSPHRASE | Passphrase for client key |

Proxy & Network

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | HTTP_PROXY / HTTPS_PROXY | HTTP/S proxy URL | | NO_PROXY | Proxy bypass list | | NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED | 0 to skip TLS verification | | CLAUDE_CODE_PROXY_RESOLVES_HOSTS | Let proxy handle DNS resolution |

Model Aliases

| Alias | Resolves To | |-------|-------------| | opus | claude-opus-4-6 | | sonnet | claude-sonnet-4-6 | | haiku | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | | opusplan | Opus with plan mode | | sonnet[1m] | Sonnet with 1M context | | claude-opus-4-6[1m] | Opus with 1M context |

Exit Codes

| Code | Meaning | |------|---------| | 0 | Success | | 1 | General error | | 2 | Invalid arguments |

Examples

# Use specific model
claude -m claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 -p "quick question"

# JSON output for scripting
claude -p "list files" --output-format json

# Multi-turn with max turns
claude -p "refactor this" --max-turns 5

# With Bedrock
CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK=1 AWS_REGION=us-east-1 claude

# With Vertex
CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=1 ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_PROJECT_ID=my-project claude

# Add extra directories
claude --add-dir /path/to/other/repo

# With custom MCP config
claude --mcp-config ./custom-mcp.json