Claude Code Cheat Sheet

Quick Reference Card

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🚀 Launch Commands

claude                    # Interactive mode
claude -p "prompt"        # Headless (non-interactive)
claude --continue         # Continue last session
claude --resume           # Pick session to resume
claude --dangerously-skip-permissions  # YOLO mode

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⚡ Essential Slash Commands

Command	What it does
/clear	USE OFTEN! Fresh context for new task
/compact	Compress context, keep key info
/init	Generate starter CLAUDE.md
/memory	Edit memory files
/context	Check context usage %
/resume	Resume previous session
/rename	Name current session
/permissions	Manage tool allowlist
/help	List all commands

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🧠 Thinking Triggers

Say this	Get this
"think"	Basic thinking
"think hard"	Medium thinking
"think harder"	Deep thinking
"ultrathink"	Maximum thinking

Example:

Think hard about the best architecture for this.
Consider tradeoffs before recommending.

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📁 File Locations

./CLAUDE.md              → Project context (shared, commit to git)
./CLAUDE.local.md        → Personal notes (gitignored)
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md      → Global (all projects)

./.claude/commands/      → Project slash commands
~/.claude/commands/      → Personal slash commands
./.claude/rules/         → Modular rules (auto-loaded)

./.claude/settings.json  → Project settings
~/.claude.json           → Global settings

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🔄 Core Workflow

1. EXPLORE    → "Read the auth files. Don't code yet."
2. PLAN       → "Think hard and make a plan."
3. CODE       → "Implement the plan."
4. COMMIT     → "Commit and create PR."

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✅ TDD Workflow

1. "Write tests for X. Don't implement yet."
2. "Run tests, confirm they fail."
3. "Implement code to pass tests. Don't modify tests."
4. "Commit tests and implementation."

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🎯 Pro Tips

Be Specific

❌ "add tests"
✅ "Write tests for login.ts covering logged-out edge case. No mocks."

Give Context

• Images: Drag/drop or Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4 (Mac)
• Files: Tab-complete with @filename
• URLs: Just paste them
• Data: Pipe in: cat data.csv | claude

Course Correct

• Escape → Interrupt anytime
• Escape Escape → Go back, try different approach
• "Undo" → Revert changes

Keep Context Fresh

/clear          # New task? Clear first!
/compact        # Getting long? Compress
/resume name    # Continue named session

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🛠 Custom Command Template

File: .claude/commands/my-command.md

---
description: What this command does
allowed-tools: Bash(git:*), Edit
argument-hint: [optional-args]
---

Your prompt instructions here.

Use $ARGUMENTS for all args.
Use $1, $2 for positional args.

Use !`command` to embed shell output.

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⚙️ CLAUDE.md Template

# Project Name

## About
One-liner description.

## Commands
- `npm run dev` - Start dev
- `npm test` - Run tests

## Code Style
- TypeScript strict mode
- Functional components

## Architecture
- /src/api - Routes
- /src/models - Data

## Gotchas
- Auth uses HttpOnly cookies

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🔧 Permissions

# Allow specific tools
/permissions add Edit
/permissions add "Bash(git commit:*)"
/permissions add "Bash(npm test:*)"

# Or edit .claude/settings.json:
{
  "allowedTools": ["Edit", "Bash(git:*)"]
}

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🌐 MCP (External Tools)

# Add MCP servers
claude mcp add puppeteer    # Browser control
claude mcp add github       # GitHub operations

# Debug MCP
claude --mcp-debug

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📋 Quick Prompts

Git Operations

Write a commit message based on the diff.
Search git history for why this API exists.
Help me resolve this rebase conflict.

Code Review

Review these changes for security issues.
What edge cases am I missing?
How can I simplify this function?

Learning

Explain how the auth system works.
Show me patterns for creating new endpoints.
Why did we choose X over Y?

Refactoring

Refactor to reduce duplication.
Extract this into a reusable hook.
Modernize this to use async/await.

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🚫 Don't

• Skip planning phase
• Let context get stale
• Put everything in CLAUDE.md
• Duplicate linter rules
• Make huge commits

✅ Do

• Be specific in prompts
• Use thinking triggers
• Give visual targets (mocks, tests)
• Use /clear between tasks
• Commit often

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🔗 Resources

• Docs: docs.anthropic.com/claude-code
• Best Practices: anthropic.com/engineering/claude-code-best-practices
• Awesome List: github.com/hesreallyhim/awesome-claude-code

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