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Starting Claude Code

What you want to do

What to type

Start a conversation

claude

Start with a specific question

claude "help me organize my files"

Quick one-off question, no conversation

claude -p "what's in this folder?"

Continue where you left off

claude -c

Resume a named session

claude -r "session name"

Browse past sessions

claude --resume

Name your session

claude -n "my project"

Choose a smarter or faster model

claude --model opusorclaude --model haiku

Keyboard shortcuts

Press

What it does

Enter

Send your message

ShiftEnter

New line without sending

CtrlC

Cancel or exit

CtrlL

Clear the screen

ShiftTab

Switch permission mode

@

Reference a file, e.g. @budget.xlsx

/

Open the command menu

Essential commands

Type

What it does

/compact

Free up conversation space. Use it between topics.

/context

Check how much conversation space is left

/cost

See what this session has cost

/model

Switch to a smarter or faster model

/memory

See what Claude remembers about you

/rewind

Undo. Rolls the code and the conversation back.

/clear

Start fresh with an empty conversation

Productivity commands

Type

What it does

/plan

Planning mode. Claude explores but changes nothing.

/batch <instruction>

Apply the same change to many files at once

/btw <question>

A quick side question that stays out of your main thread

/schedule

Set up recurring automated tasks

/loop 5m <task>

Repeat a task every 5 minutes

/mcp

Connect other tools, such as Gmail or Slack

Pointing at files

Put @ in front of a file or folder and Claude reads it.

Type

Means

@report.pdf

A specific file

@documents/

An entire folder

@~/Desktop/notes.txt

A file on your desktop

Permission modes: how much freedom Claude gets

Mode

What Claude can do

Best for

Default

Asks before editing files or running commands

Most people, most of the time

Accept edits

Edits files freely, still asks before running commands

When you trust Claude with file changes

Plan

Reads and explores only. Changes nothing.

When you want analysis or advice

Auto

Decides for itself what is safe to do

Experienced users who want speed

Press Shift Tab during a session to switch.

Which model to pick

Opus

--model opus

Slowest, smartest

Complex analysis, important decisions, deep thinking

Sonnet

--model sonnet

Medium speed, very smart. The default.

Most everyday tasks. The best balance.

Haiku

--model haiku

Fastest, smart

Quick answers and simple tasks when speed matters

Common tasks: what to say

Files

• Organize the files in my Downloads folder by type
• Find all PDFs on my desktop from 2024
• Rename these files to follow the pattern "YYYY-MM-DD-description"
• Clean up duplicate files in this folder

Writing

• Draft a professional email declining this meeting
• Rewrite this paragraph to be more concise
• Proofread my report and fix any errors
• Turn these bullet points into a polished document

Data

• Summarize the key numbers in this spreadsheet
• Compare last month's sales to this month
• Find patterns in this customer feedback
• Create a simple chart-ready summary of this data

Planning

• Help me plan a marketing campaign for my bakery
• Research the best accounting software for small businesses
• Create a checklist for launching a new product
• Compare the pros and cons of these three options

Teaching Claude about you

• Remember that I prefer bullet points over paragraphs
• Remember my business is called Sweet Spot Bakery
• Forget that -- we changed our name
• What do you remember about me?

Getting help

Type

What you get

claude --help

All available options

claude --version

Which version you have

/help

Help during a session

Habits worth building

• Name your sessions so you can find them later: claude -n "tax prep 2024"
• Run /compact between topics to keep conversations fast
• Use /btw for side questions that do not relate to your main task
• Point Claude at files with @filename instead of describing what is in them
• Start with /plan when you want Claude to think before it changes anything
• Set up a CLAUDE.md file with your preferences so Claude knows how you like to work. See Configuration.