Quick Reference

Reference beginner

Claude Code — Quick Reference Card

Start & Stop

claude              # Interactive mode
claude "prompt"     # One-shot mode
claude --resume     # Resume last session
Ctrl+D or /quit    # Exit

Essential Commands

/help      — Show commands
/clear     — Reset conversation
/compact   — Summarise to save space
/cost      — Token usage
/model     — Switch model

Keyboard Shortcuts

Enter       — Send
Shift+Enter — New line
Ctrl+C      — Cancel generation
Esc         — Cancel input
Up Arrow    — Previous message

File Operations

"Create [path] with [content]"
"Edit [path] — change [X] to [Y]"
"Delete [path]"
"Find all files matching [pattern]"
"Search for [text] in [scope]"

Permission Responses

y — Approve
n — Reject
a — Always allow this type
[text] — Modify and retry

Project Setup (Essential Files)

CLAUDE.md                    — Project instructions for Claude
.claude/settings.json        — Team permissions (committed)
.claude/settings.local.json  — Personal settings (gitignored)
.claude/commands/*.md        — Custom slash commands

CLAUDE.md Template

# My Project
## Tech Stack
- [framework] [version]
## Commands
- `npm run dev` — dev server
- `npm test` — tests
## Conventions
- [pattern 1]
- [pattern 2]
## Do NOT
- [anti-pattern 1]
- [anti-pattern 2]

Common Workflows

New feature:

Think about [feature], plan the approach, then implement step by step.

Debug:

Error: [paste error]. Happens when [trigger]. Expected [X], got [Y].

Refactor:

Refactor [target] to [improvement]. Keep same interface. Run tests.

Review:

Review changes on this branch vs main for bugs and security issues.

Commit:

Stage all changes and commit with a conventional commit message.

Models

Model Best For Speed
Opus Complex reasoning, architecture Slower
Sonnet Daily coding, edits, debugging Fast
Haiku Simple questions, quick tasks Fastest

Context Management

Situation Do This
Quality dropping /compact
New unrelated task New session
Long multi-part task Break into sessions
Need prior context --resume
Repeated instructions Put in CLAUDE.md

Cost Awareness

Task ~Tokens
Simple question 1-5K
File creation 5-15K
Multi-file feature 50-200K
Long debug session 100-500K

MCP Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "server-name": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "package-name"],
      "env": { "KEY": "value" }
    }
  }
}

Golden Rules

  1. Run from project root — context comes from working directory
  2. Be specific — detailed prompts get first-try results
  3. Commit before big changes — git is your undo button
  4. Read diffs before approving — don't blindly accept
  5. CLAUDE.md is your leverage — invest 5 minutes, save hours
  6. One task per session — focused sessions > marathon sessions