Reference Hub

Claude Code Field Guide

Commands, tools, hooks, MCP, subagents, teams, permissions, and workflow details organized into one practical reference.

112 entries6 sectionsStart Course

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17 entries

Start Here

Core workflow, modes, shortcuts, and day-one setup.

21 entries

Tools

Bash, edit, read, grep, glob, notebook, LSP, and command behavior.

20 entries

Hooks

Lifecycle events, approvals, prompts, compacting, and automation points.

17 entries

Start Here

Core workflow, modes, shortcuts, and day-one setup.

1 min read

Terminal CLI - Claude Code

The primary command-line entry point for Claude Code sessions.

1 min read

Interactive Mode - Claude Code

Real-time prompt loop with history, completions, and multiline input.

1 min read

Keyboard Shortcuts - Claude Code

50+ customizable shortcuts for cancel, history, transcript, and more.

1 min read

Default Permission Mode - Claude Code

Approve each action manually - the safest mode for new tasks.

1 min read

Plan Mode - Claude Code

Explore and propose changes without executing them.

1 min read

Bypass Permissions Mode - Claude Code

Skip all permission checks. Container and VM use only.

1 min read

Permission Rules - Claude Code

Granular allow/ask/deny rules per tool with wildcard patterns.

1 min read

Sandboxing - Claude Code

Filesystem and network isolation for Bash tool calls on Linux and macOS.

1 min read

Model Aliases - Claude Code

Use opus, sonnet, haiku, and best to switch models easily.

1 min read

OpusPlan Alias - Claude Code

Hybrid mode: Opus for planning, Sonnet for execution.

1 min read

Effort Levels - Claude Code

Low, medium, high, xhigh, and max for adaptive reasoning control.

1 min read

Model Picker (/model) - Claude Code

Interactive UI to switch models and effort sliders mid-session.

1 min read

Custom Model Option - Claude Code

Add gateway or custom models to the picker via environment variables.

1 min read

Disable Model Invocation - Claude Code

Hide skills from Claude's auto-selection until manually triggered.

1 min read

PermissionRequest Hook - Claude Code

Fires when a permission dialog appears. Auto-approve or auto-deny.

1 min read

PermissionDenied Hook - Claude Code

Fires when auto mode or a rule denies an action.

1 min read

Plan Approval - Claude Code

Require lead approval before teammates execute their tasks.

21 entries

Tools

Bash, edit, read, grep, glob, notebook, LSP, and command behavior.

1 min read

Vim Editor Mode - Claude Code

Full vim keybindings (normal and insert modes) for prompt editing.

1 min read

Bash Mode - Claude Code

Prefix prompts with ! to run shell commands directly, bypassing Claude.

1 min read

Read Tool - Claude Code

Read file contents with line limiting, offset, and binary support.

1 min read

Write Tool - Claude Code

Create or overwrite files; requires permission for existing paths.

1 min read

Edit Tool - Claude Code

Targeted edits to specific sections without rewriting entire files.

1 min read

MultiEdit - Claude Code

Batch edit multiple files in a single atomic operation.

1 min read

Notebook Edit - Claude Code

Modify Jupyter notebook cells directly without touching JSON.

1 min read

Glob Tool - Claude Code

File discovery via pattern matching across the repository.

1 min read

Grep Tool - Claude Code

Search file contents by pattern with regex support.

1 min read

LSP Tool - Claude Code

Jump to definitions, find references, and type-check via language servers.

1 min read

Bash Tool - Claude Code

Execute shell commands with persistent working directory in project bounds.

1 min read

PowerShell Tool - Claude Code

Native PowerShell execution on Windows and optionally Unix hosts.

1 min read

Monitor Tool - Claude Code

Background monitoring of logs, files, and long-running processes.

1 min read

WebFetch Tool - Claude Code

Fetch and parse content from URLs, including JS-rendered pages.

1 min read

WebSearch Tool - Claude Code

Perform web searches and return ranked results with snippets.

1 min read

Accept Edits Mode - Claude Code

Auto-approve file edits and common filesystem commands.

1 min read

Subagent Tool Restrictions - Claude Code

Limit which tools a subagent can access.

1 min read

PreToolUse Hook - Claude Code

Fires before any tool executes. Allow, deny, defer, or modify the call.

1 min read

PostToolUse Hook - Claude Code

Fires after a successful tool call. Good for feedback and follow-ups.

1 min read

PostToolUseFailure Hook - Claude Code

Fires on tool execution errors for logging, alerting, and retry.

1 min read

MCP Tool Search - Claude Code

Deferred tool loading reduces context overhead for large MCP suites.

20 entries

Hooks

Lifecycle events, approvals, prompts, compacting, and automation points.

1 min read

Prompt Suggestions - Claude Code

Context-aware follow-up suggestions derived from git history.

1 min read

Prompt Caching - Claude Code

Automatic reuse of cached context for substantial cost reduction.

1 min read

Auto Compaction - Claude Code

Background context summarization when the window starts filling up.

1 min read

Hooks System - Claude Code

Event-driven automation with 20+ lifecycle events.

1 min read

SessionStart Hook - Claude Code

Fires when a session begins; load env vars and initialize state.

1 min read

SessionEnd Hook - Claude Code

Fires when a session terminates.

1 min read

UserPromptSubmit Hook - Claude Code

Fires before Claude processes user input; can validate or block.

1 min read

UserPromptExpansion Hook - Claude Code

Fires when a slash command expands; can block or inject context.

1 min read

SubagentStart and SubagentStop Hooks - Claude Code

Fire when subagents spawn and finish.

1 min read

TaskCreated and TaskCompleted Hooks - Claude Code

Fire on task lifecycle events.

1 min read

Stop Hook - Claude Code

Fires when Claude finishes responding. Can prevent the stop.

1 min read

FileChanged Hook - Claude Code

Fires when watched files change on disk.

1 min read

ConfigChange and InstructionsLoaded Hooks - Claude Code

Fire when settings or CLAUDE.md files change during a session.

1 min read

PreCompact and PostCompact Hooks - Claude Code

Fire before and after context compaction.

1 min read

Elicitation Hook - Claude Code

Fires when an MCP server requests input from the user.

1 min read

Command Hooks - Claude Code

Run shell scripts on events with environment variable passing.

1 min read

Prompt-Based Hooks - Claude Code

Use Claude itself to handle hook logic instead of shell scripts.

1 min read

Agent-Based Hooks - Claude Code

Spawn subagents to handle complex hook logic.

1 min read

Async Hooks - Claude Code

Run hooks in the background without blocking the session.

1 min read

MCP Prompts - Claude Code

Execute MCP prompts as commands via the slash menu.

7 entries

MCP

Servers, resources, prompts, OAuth, scopes, and managed MCP setup.

1 min read

Subagent MCP Scoping - Claude Code

Route specific MCP servers only to specific subagents.

1 min read

MCP Servers - Claude Code

Connect external tools and data sources via the open MCP standard.

1 min read

MCP Installation Scopes - Claude Code

Local, project, user, and plugin-level MCP configurations.

1 min read

MCP OAuth - Claude Code

Pre-configured or dynamic OAuth for remote MCP servers.

1 min read

MCP Resources - Claude Code

Reference and read resources exposed by MCP servers.

1 min read

MCP Channel Messaging - Claude Code

Receive push messages from MCP servers via channels.

1 min read

Managed MCP - Claude Code

Admin-controlled allow and deny lists for MCP servers.

11 entries

Subagents

Definitions, tools, memory, context isolation, and team patterns.

1 min read

Skill in Subagent - Claude Code

Run a skill in an isolated context via fork mode.

1 min read

Subagents - Claude Code

Spawn isolated workers with independent context windows.

1 min read

Built-in Subagents - Claude Code

Researcher, auditor, reviewer, and other ready-made subagent types.

1 min read

Custom Subagent Types - Claude Code

Create reusable subagent definitions at project or user level.

1 min read

Subagent Frontmatter - Claude Code

Configure model, tools, MCP, skills, memory, and scoping.

1 min read

Subagent Persistent Memory - Claude Code

Auto-memory that persists across multiple subagent invocations.

1 min read

Subagent Context Isolation - Claude Code

Prevent bloating the main conversation with research or exploration.

1 min read

Resume Subagents - Claude Code

Continue a subagent's work across sessions.

1 min read

Agent Teams - Claude Code

Coordinate multiple Claude Code instances with a shared task list.

1 min read

Team Lead - Claude Code

Coordinator agent that assigns tasks and synthesizes findings.

1 min read

Subagent Definitions as Teammates - Claude Code

Reuse custom subagent types as Agent Teams members.

11 entries

Skills And Memory

Skills, frontmatter, invocation, auto-memory, and reusable context.

1 min read

CLAUDE.md Files - Claude Code

Persistent project instructions loaded every session; supports nested dirs.

1 min read

.claude/rules Directory - Claude Code

Path-specific rules that only load for matching files.

1 min read

Auto Memory - Claude Code

Automatic session-to-session memory of build commands, errors, and learnings.

1 min read

Memory Command - Claude Code

View and edit auto-memory and CLAUDE.md via the /memory command.

1 min read

Skills System - Claude Code

Reusable markdown files with instructions and workflows.

1 min read

Bundled Skills - Claude Code

/simplify, /batch, /debug, /fast, and other built-in skills.

1 min read

Skill Invocation - Claude Code

Trigger with /skillname or let Claude auto-load when relevant.

1 min read

Skill Frontmatter - Claude Code

Configure model, effort, tools, MCP servers, and invocation scope.

1 min read

Skill Arguments - Claude Code

Pass arguments to skills with string substitution support.

1 min read

Skill Pre-Approval - Claude Code

Pre-approve tools before a skill executes so it runs without prompts.

1 min read

Live Skill Discovery - Claude Code

Changes to skill files are detected and reloaded automatically.

25 entries

Reference

Everything else that does not fit a tighter section.

1 min read

Background Tasks - Claude Code

Run Bash commands with Ctrl+B and retrieve output by task ID.

1 min read

Command History - Claude Code

Per-directory prompt history with Ctrl+R reverse search.

1 min read

Voice Dictation - Claude Code

Hold-to-record voice input on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

1 min read

Multiline Input - Claude Code

Shift+Enter, Option+Enter, or backslash+Enter for multi-line prompts.

1 min read

Side Questions with /btw - Claude Code

Ask quick side questions without derailing the main task.

1 min read

Environment Variable Persistence - Claude Code

SessionStart hooks can persist env vars across Bash tool calls.

1 min read

Git Integration - Claude Code

Stage, commit, branch, and open PRs without leaving the session.

1 min read

Worktrees - Claude Code

Isolated git worktrees for parallel Claude Code sessions.

1 min read

PR Status in Footer - Claude Code

Clickable PR link in the footer with review state color coding.

1 min read

gh CLI Integration - Claude Code

Full GitHub CLI support for automated PR and issue workflows.

1 min read

AGENTS.md - Claude Code

Define custom subagent types within your project's memory layer.

1 min read

Context Window Visualization - Claude Code

Interactive timeline showing what's in context at each turn.

1 min read

Auto Mode - Claude Code

Eliminate prompts with a background classifier that judges safety.

1 min read

DontAsk Mode - Claude Code

Only pre-approved tools allowed. Fully non-interactive for CI.

1 min read

Protected Paths - Claude Code

Auto-guarded directories like .git, .claude, and .vscode.

1 min read

1M Token Context - Claude Code

Extended context window for Opus and Sonnet on supported plans.

1 min read

Fast Mode - Claude Code

2.5x faster Opus at a higher token cost (research preview).

1 min read

Extended Thinking - Claude Code

Toggle with Alt+T. Claude reasons through complex problems before responding.

1 min read

Shared Task List - Claude Code

Teammates claim and complete work independently from one list.

1 min read

Inter-Agent Messaging - Claude Code

Teammates communicate directly without routing through the lead.

1 min read

Split Pane Display - Claude Code

Run each teammate in its own tmux or iTerm2 pane.

1 min read

Task Dependencies - Claude Code

Pending tasks depend on others and unblock automatically.

1 min read

/loop Command - Claude Code

Run a prompt repeatedly on a fixed interval or self-paced.

1 min read

Scheduled Tasks (Desktop) - Claude Code

GUI-based scheduling on your local machine for recurring work.

1 min read

Routines (Web) - Claude Code

Managed scheduling on Anthropic infrastructure with API and GitHub triggers.