Claude Code Operation Guide |

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Claude Code’s input box is not a pure chat interface, but rather:

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AI + Editor + Command Scheduler — Integrated Terminal

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There are primarily three types of prefix triggers:

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Symbol	Type	Essential Function
/	Command	Execute built-in operations
@	Context	Reference files/code/directories
!	Bash Mode	Execute terminal commands directly; stdout/stderr are automatically injected into context
#	Memory	Persistently write content into the project memory file CLAUDE.md for long-term, cross-session effect (e.g., #config.yaml)
&	Async	Execute tasks asynchronously in the background/cloud, non-blocking the current session; view progress at claude.ai/code after closing the terminal
+ Enter	Multiline	Insert line breaks without sending; write multiline content in one go for lengthy instructions
No prefix	Natural Language	Standard task instructions

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/ — Operational Commands (Most Important)

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/ is the core symbol in Claude Code for triggering built-in commands/tools, similar to command prefixes in a terminal shell, used to instruct Claude to perform specific operations rather than merely generating text.

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Core Use Cases: Invoke built-in features (e.g., code generation, file operations, environment execution, plugin invocation, etc.).

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After /, immediately follow with a command keyword, then a space and parameters (e.g., filenames, commands to execute, targets for fixes, etc.). This is the key mechanism Claude Code uses to distinguish natural language conversation from code operation instructions.

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Typing / will display a list of available commands:

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Common frequently used commands:

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Command	Function
/help	View all capabilities
/clear	Clear conversation
/plan	Enter planning mode
/model	Switch model
/context	View context usage
/export	Export conversation
/status	Environment status
/tasks	Manage background tasks
/theme	Switch theme
/memory	Edit CLAUDE.md

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Example:

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//plan Implement a user login module\n

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@ — Context Injection

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After @, follow with a filename; Claude will auto-suggest:

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Reference a single file:

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@main.py Help me check for bugs
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Reference multiple files:

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@main.py @main2.py Do these two contain duplicate logic?

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Reference an entire directory using @ + directory path:

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@src/ Analyze project structure and provide optimization suggestions

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Reference error logs:

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@npm-debug.log Identify the cause of failure

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Claude will load the file contents into its reasoning context.

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---

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! — Bash Commands

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Run bash commands directly by prefixing input with !, bypassing Claude. Format:

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! + Bash Command

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Typing ! will prompt entry into Bash command mode:

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Example: view current directory:

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! ls -la
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Vim Editor Mode

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Enable Vim-style editing using the /vim command, or configure permanently via /config.

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Mode Switching

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Command	Action	From Mode
Esc	Enter NORMAL mode	INSERT
i	Insert before cursor	NORMAL
I	Insert at beginning of line	NORMAL
a	Insert after cursor	NORMAL
A	Insert at end of line	NORMAL
o	Open new line below	NORMAL
O	Open new line above	NORMAL

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Navigation (NORMAL Mode)

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Command	Action
h/j/k/l	Move left/down/up/right
w	Next word
e	End of word
b	Previous word
0	Beginning of line
$	End of line
^	First non-whitespace character
gg	Start of input
G	End of input
f{char}	Jump to next occurrence of char
F{char}	Jump to previous occurrence of char
t{char}	Jump to just before next occurrence of char
T{char}	Jump to just after previous occurrence of char
;	Repeat last f/F/t/T motion
,	Reverse repeat last f/F/t/T motion

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Editing (NORMAL Mode)

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Command	Action
x	Delete character
dd	Delete line
D	Delete to end of line
dw/de/db	Delete word/to end/backward
cc	Change line
C	Change to end of line
cw/ce/cb	Change word/to end/backward
yy/Y	Yank (copy) line
yw/ye/yb	Yank word/to end/backward
p	Paste after cursor
P	Paste before cursor
>>	Indent line
<<	Unindent line
J	Join lines
.	Repeat last change

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Text Objects (NORMAL Mode)

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Text objects work with operators like d, c, and y:

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Command	Action
iw/aw	Inner/around word
iW/aW	Inner/around WORD (space-delimited)
i"/a"	Inner/around double quotes
i'/a'	Inner/around single quotes
i(/a(	Inner/around parentheses
i[/a[	Inner/around brackets
i{/a{	Inner/around braces

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Command History

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Claude Code maintains command history for the current session:

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• History is stored per working directory
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• Clear using the /clear command
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• Navigate using Up/Down arrows (see keyboard shortcuts above)
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• Note: History expansion (!) is disabled by default
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Reverse Search with Ctrl+R

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Press Ctrl+R to interactively search your command history:

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• Start search: Press Ctrl+R to activate reverse history search
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• Type query: Enter text to search in previous commands — matched terms are highlighted
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• Navigate matches: Press Ctrl+R again to cycle through older matches
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• Accept match:\n
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  • Press Tab or Esc to accept current match and continue editing
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  • Press Enter to accept and immediately execute the command
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• Cancel search:\n
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  • Press Ctrl+C to cancel and restore original input
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  • Press Backspace on an empty search to cancel
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The search displays matching commands with the search term highlighted, making it easy to find and reuse previous inputs.

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Background Bash Commands

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Claude Code supports running bash commands in the background, allowing you to continue working while long-running processes execute.

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How Background Execution Works

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When Claude Code runs a command in the background, it executes the command asynchronously and immediately returns a background task ID. Claude Code can respond to new prompts while the command continues running in the background.

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To run a command in the background, you can:

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• Ask Claude Code to run the command in the background
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• Press Ctrl+B to move a regular Bash tool call to the background. (Tmux users must press Ctrl+B twice, as it is tmux’s prefix key.)
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Key Features:

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• Output is buffered; Claude can retrieve it using the TaskOutput tool
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• Background tasks have unique IDs for tracking and output retrieval
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• Background tasks are automatically cleaned up when Claude Code exits
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To disable all background task features, set the environment variable CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKS to 1.

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Common background commands:

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• Build tools (webpack, vite, make)
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• Package managers (npm, yarn, pnpm)
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• Test runners (jest, pytest)
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• Development servers
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• Long-running processes (docker, terraform)
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Bash Mode with ! Prefix

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Run bash commands directly by prefixing input with !, bypassing Claude:

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! npm test\n! git status\n! ls -la\n

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Bash mode:

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• Adds the command and its output to the conversation context
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• Shows real-time progress and output
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• Supports the same Ctrl+B for background execution of long-running commands
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• Does not require Claude to interpret or approve the command
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• Supports history-based autocompletion: type a partial command and press Tab to complete from previous ! commands in the current project
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This is useful for quick shell operations while maintaining conversation context.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

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General Controls

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Shortcut	Description	Context
Ctrl+C	Cancel current input or generation	Standard interrupt
Ctrl+D	Exit Claude Code session	EOF signal
Ctrl+G	Open in default text editor	Edit your prompt or custom response in the default text editor
Ctrl+L	Clear terminal screen	Preserve conversation history
Ctrl+O	Toggle verbose output	Show detailed tool usage and execution
Ctrl+R	Reverse search command history	Interactive search of previous commands
Ctrl+V or Cmd+V (iTerm2) or Alt+V (Windows)	Paste image from clipboard	Paste image or path to image file
Ctrl+B	Run task in background	Run bash commands and agents in background. Tmux users press twice
Left/Right arrows	Cycle through conversation tabs	Navigate between tabs in permission dialog and menus
Up/Down arrows	Navigate command history	Recall previous inputs
Esc + Esc	Revert code/conversation	Restore code and/or conversation to previous state
Shift+Tab or Alt+M (some configs)	Toggle permission mode	Switch between auto-accept, Plan Mode, and normal mode
Option+P (macOS) or Alt+P (Windows/Linux)	Toggle model	Switch models without clearing prompt
Option+T (macOS) or Alt+T (Windows/Linux)	Toggle extended thinking	Enable or disable extended thinking mode. Run /terminal-setup first to enable this shortcut

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Text Editing

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Shortcut	Description	Context
Ctrl+K	Delete to end of line	Store deleted text for pasting
Ctrl+U	Delete entire line	Store deleted text for pasting
Ctrl+Y	Paste deleted text	Paste text deleted with Ctrl+K or Ctrl+U
Alt+Y (after Ctrl+Y)	Cycle through paste history	Cycle through previously deleted text after pasting. Requires setting Option as Meta on macOS
Alt+B	Move cursor backward one word	Word navigation. Requires setting Option as Meta on macOS
Alt+F	Move cursor forward one word	Word navigation. Requires setting Option as Meta on macOS

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Theme and Display

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Shortcut	Description	Context
Ctrl+T	Toggle syntax highlighting in code blocks	Only works inside the /theme selector menu. Controls whether code in Claude’s responses uses syntax coloring

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Syntax highlighting is only available in native builds of Claude Code.

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Multiline Input

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Method	Shortcut	Context
Quick escape	+ Enter	Works in all terminals
macOS default	Option+Enter	Default on macOS
Shift+Enter	Shift+Enter	Out of the box in iTerm2, WezTerm, Ghostty, Kitty
Control sequence	Ctrl+J	Line break for multiline input
Paste mode	Paste directly	For code blocks, logs

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Shift+Enter works out of the box in iTerm2, WezTerm, Ghostty, and Kitty. For other terminals (VS Code, Alacritty, Zed, Warp), run /terminal-setup to install bindings.