10 Commands You'll Use Every Day

Your CLI Toolkit

Claude Code is a command-line tool, and like all good CLI tools, it has flags and subcommands that make it powerful beyond the basic interactive mode. Here are the 10 commands and flags you'll reach for every day.

1. claude — Start a Session

The most basic command. Start an interactive REPL in the current directory:

# Start in the current directory
claude

# Start with an initial prompt
claude "what does this project do?"

# Start with file context
claude "explain @src/auth/middleware.ts"

When to use: Every time you want to start working with Claude Code. Navigate to your project directory first.

2. claude -c — Continue Last Session

Resume your most recent session with full conversation history:

# Continue where you left off
claude -c

This restores the entire conversation — everything you discussed, every file Claude read, every decision made. It's as if you never left.

When to use: You closed the terminal, went to lunch, or got pulled into a meeting, and now you want to pick up exactly where you left off. This is different from starting a new session because Claude retains all the context from your previous conversation.

3. claude -r — Resume a Specific Session

When you have multiple sessions and want to resume a specific one:

# Open the interactive session picker
claude -r

# Resume a session by ID (shown in session picker)
claude -r session_abc123

The session picker shows your recent sessions with timestamps, the first message, and the project directory. Navigate with arrow keys, press Enter to resume.

When to use: You've been switching between multiple tasks or projects and want to jump back to a specific conversation. The session picker makes it easy to find the right one.

4. claude -n "name" — Named Session

Create a session with a memorable name:

# Start a named session
claude -n "auth-refactor"

# Later, find it easily in the session picker
claude -r
# You'll see "auth-refactor" in the list

When to use: For multi-day tasks where you'll resume the session multiple times. Named sessions are easier to find in the session picker than sessions identified by their first message. Good names: "payment-v2", "migration-postgres", "onboarding-flow".

5. claude -p "query" — Headless / Pipe Mode

Run a query without starting an interactive session. Claude processes the query, outputs the result, and exits:

# Quick question
claude -p "what's the TypeScript syntax for a generic constraint?"

# Pipe content into Claude
cat error.log | claude -p "summarize the errors in this log"

# Use in scripts
SUMMARY=$(claude -p "summarize @CHANGELOG.md in one paragraph")
echo "$SUMMARY"

# Chain with other commands
git diff HEAD~1 | claude -p "write a commit message for this diff"

When to use: Quick one-off questions, scripting, CI/CD pipelines, or any time you want an answer without an interactive session. This is Claude as a Unix tool — it reads stdin, processes, and writes to stdout.

6. claude -w name — Worktree Session

Start a session in a git worktree for isolated, parallel work:

# Start Claude in a worktree (creates the worktree if needed)
claude -w feature-auth

# Claude works in a separate copy of the codebase
# Your main working directory is untouched

When to use: When you want Claude to work on a feature branch without affecting your current working directory. Worktrees let Claude make changes, run tests, and iterate — all in an isolated copy of your repo. You review the results and merge when satisfied.

7. claude update — Update Claude Code

Check for and install the latest version:

# Update to latest
claude update

# Check current version
claude --version

When to use: Regularly — at least once a week. Claude Code ships updates frequently. New model capabilities, slash commands, bug fixes, and performance improvements drop in these updates. If something isn't working as expected, updating is often the fix.

8. claude doctor — Run Diagnostics

Health check your installation:

claude doctor

This checks:

• Node.js version
• Claude Code version (is it current?)
• Authentication status
• Network connectivity to Anthropic's API
• Configuration file validity
• MCP server health

When to use: When something isn't working. "Claude is slow," "I keep getting errors," "my MCP server isn't connecting" — run claude doctor first. It's the equivalent of checking if the device is plugged in.

9. claude mcp list — MCP Servers

List configured MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers:

# List all configured MCP servers and their tools
claude mcp list

MCP servers extend Claude Code's capabilities — connecting to databases, APIs, GitHub, Slack, and more. This command shows which servers are configured, whether they're running, and what tools they provide.

When to use: When setting up MCP servers, debugging MCP connections, or checking what tools are available in your current session. You'll learn much more about MCP in Module 8.

10. claude --from-pr 42 — PR Session

Start a session pre-loaded with a pull request's context:

# Start with PR context
claude --from-pr 42

# Claude starts with the PR's diff, description, and comments
# already in context. You can immediately ask:
"Review this PR for bugs and security issues"

This loads the PR diff, title, description, and any comments as context before your first message. Claude can immediately reason about the changes without you having to explain what the PR does.

When to use: Code reviews, picking up someone else's PR for fixes, or understanding what a PR changes. Instead of reading the diff yourself and then explaining it to Claude, this does it in one step.

Quick Reference Card

Here's the cheat sheet:

# Starting sessions
claude                       # New interactive session
claude "prompt"              # New session with initial prompt
claude -c                    # Continue last session
claude -r                    # Resume specific session (picker)
claude -n "name"             # Named session
claude -w branch-name        # Worktree session (isolated)

# One-off queries
claude -p "question"         # Headless mode (no REPL)
cat file | claude -p "task"  # Pipe mode

# Maintenance
claude update                # Update to latest version
claude doctor                # Run diagnostics
claude --version             # Check version

# Integrations
claude --from-pr 42          # Start with PR context
claude mcp list              # List MCP servers

Combining Flags

Some flags combine naturally:

# Named session with initial prompt
claude -n "auth-fix" "debug the JWT refresh flow"

# Headless with specific model
claude -p --model opus "design a caching strategy for @src/api/"

# Continue with worktree
claude -c -w feature-branch

Key Takeaway

These 10 commands cover 95% of daily Claude Code usage: claude to start, -c to continue, -r to resume, -n for named sessions, -p for headless queries, -w for worktrees, update and doctor for maintenance, mcp list for tooling, and --from-pr for pull request reviews. Memorize these and you'll navigate Claude Code like a pro.