Keyboard Shortcuts & Productivity

Master the Claude Code CLI shortcuts and techniques to work faster in the terminal.

Mode Switching

Claude Code has permission modes you can cycle through instantly:

• Shift + Tab — Cycle: default → acceptEdits → plan. Once enabled, auto and bypassPermissions slot in after plan; dontAsk stays out of the cycle.

Use default for careful work, acceptEdits when you trust the flow, and plan for read-only exploration. See the Plan Mode guide for details.

Essential Shortcuts

• Ctrl + C — Cancel current generation or input
• Ctrl + D — Exit Claude Code
• Ctrl + L — Redraw the terminal (recovers from garbled display; conversation history is kept)
• Ctrl + R — Reverse search through command history
• ↑ — Recall previous prompts
• Esc Esc — Rewind: undo code changes and/or conversation turns

Input & References

• @ — Reference a file or directory (tab-completable)
• / — Open slash commands menu
• # — Quick-update CLAUDE.md from the conversation (legacy; prefer /memory for the official editor)
• ! — Enter bash mode (run shell commands directly)
• Ctrl + V — Paste an image for visual analysis

Useful Slash Commands

Session Management

Resume a Session

claude --continue          # resume most recent conversation (short: -c)
claude --resume            # pick from a list of recent sessions (short: -r)
claude --resume "my-task"  # resume a named session directly

Name a Session

claude --name "auth-refactor"    # set a display name at launch (short: -n)

Or rename mid-session with /rename auth-refactor. Named sessions are easy to resume with --resume.

Fork a Session

claude --resume "auth-refactor" --fork-session   # branch into a new session ID

Useful when you want to explore an alternative approach without modifying the original session.

Start an Isolated Worktree

claude --worktree

Use this when you want a parallel session with its own branch and working directory.

Workflow Tips

Pipe Input

Feed external data directly into Claude Code using Unix pipes:

git diff main | claude -p "review this diff for issues"
tail -f app.log | claude -p "summarize errors as they appear"
cat schema.sql | claude -p "suggest indexes for this schema"

File References

Use @ to pull file content into your prompt efficiently:

@src/auth/login.ts what does this auth flow do?
look at @tests/ and write tests for @src/utils/parser.ts

Headless / Scripting Mode

For CI and automation, use -p (print mode):

claude -p "run all tests and report failures" --output-format json

Add --bare for the fastest possible startup — it skips hooks, skills, plugins, MCP servers, auto memory, and CLAUDE.md:

claude --bare -p "check if this file has any syntax errors"

Related Reading

• Plan Mode — Learn the Explore → Plan → Code workflow
• CLAUDE.md & Memory — Configure persistent project context
• Git & Parallel Sessions — Use worktrees for safe parallel work
• Dynamic Workflows — Use ultracode for large orchestration
• Automation — Keep Claude working with goals, loops, routines, and channels
• Debugging Tips — Fix bugs faster with Claude