Section 01: Complete Reference Guide

CLI Command Reference

Basic Commands

# Interactive mode
claude

# One-shot command
claude "your question"

# With file context
claude "@src/file.js explain this"

# Extended thinking
claude --thinking=5000 "complex task"

# Specific model (use opus for current Opus 4.5; see [Models overview](https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/about-claude/models/overview))
claude --model opus "task"

# Output to file
claude "generate code" > output.js

Advanced CLI Options

--api-key KEY          # Override API key
--model MODEL          # Specify model
--thinking BUDGET      # Extended thinking budget
--max-tokens N         # Max output tokens
--platform PLATFORM    # anthropic|bedrock|vertex
--debug                # Debug mode
--version              # Show version
--help                 # Show help

API Parameter Reference

Messages API

{
  model: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
  max_tokens: 4096,
  thinking: {
    type: "enabled",
    budget_tokens: 5000
  },
  system: "You are a helpful assistant",
  messages: [
    { role: "user", content: "Hello" }
  ],
  temperature: 1.0,
  top_p: 0.9
}

Something not working? See Troubleshooting. Full checklist for AI-generated code: PR Review Guide.

Essential Prompts

The 12 most-used prompts for daily development.

These cover 80% of daily use cases. For the complete library with 50+ prompts, see Appendix: Comprehensive Prompt Library.

1. Security Review (Before Commit)

git diff --cached | claude "Review for security vulnerabilities:

Critical:
- SQL injection, XSS, auth bypasses
- Secrets in code
- Missing input validation

Format as 🔴 Critical, 🟡 High Priority, 🟢 Good Practices
Include file:line references."

⏱️ 30-60 seconds

2. Quick Lint Check (Before Commit)

git diff --cached | claude "Quick review:
- Remove console.logs and commented code
- Check for TODOs without tickets
- Verify formatting
List issues only, no explanations."

⏱️ 10-15 seconds

3. Generate Unit Tests

claude "Generate Jest unit tests for @src/utils/validation.ts:

Requirements:
- Test all exported functions
- Cover happy path + error cases
- Use AAA pattern
- Include edge cases (null, undefined, empty)
- Aim for 100% coverage"

⏱️ 1-2 minutes

4. Debug Production Error

claude "Production error - help debug:

Error: [paste stack trace]

Relevant code:
@src/api/users.ts
@src/middleware/auth.ts

Context:
- Started after deploy at 2pm
- Affects 5% of requests
- Only users with role 'admin'

Find root cause + fix + prevention."

⏱️ 2-3 minutes

5. Analyze Test Failures

npm test 2>&1 | claude "Analyze test failures:

For each failure:
1. Root cause
2. Which change likely broke it
3. Specific fix with code
4. How to prevent similar failures"

⏱️ 30-60 seconds

6. Generate Commit Message

git diff --cached | claude "Generate conventional commit message:

Format: type(scope): description
Types: feat|fix|refactor|docs|test|chore

Examples:
- feat(auth): add OAuth login
- fix(api): handle null user error

Based on staged changes."

⏱️ 5 seconds

7. Generate PR Description

git diff main | claude "Generate PR description:

## What Changed
## Why
## Testing Done
## Breaking Changes

Checklist:
- [ ] Tests added/updated
- [ ] Documentation updated
- [ ] No secrets committed"

⏱️ 1-2 minutes

8. Update README After Changes

git diff main src/routes/ | claude "Update README.md based on API changes:

- New endpoints? Add to API section
- Removed endpoints? Remove from docs
- Changed parameters? Update examples
- Changed auth? Update auth docs

Keep existing README structure."

⏱️ 1 minute

9. Generate API Documentation

claude "Generate API docs for @src/routes/

Format in markdown:
## Endpoint Name
`POST /api/endpoint`
**Description:** What it does
**Request:** { example }
**Response:** { example }
**Errors:** 400, 401 descriptions"

⏱️ 3-5 minutes

10. Refactor Legacy Code

claude "Refactor @src/utils/legacy.js to modern ES6+:

Requirements:
- Convert to ES6 modules
- Use const/let instead of var
- Convert callbacks to async/await
- Add TypeScript types
- Preserve exact behavior"

⏱️ 2-3 minutes

11. Optimize Database Queries

claude "Optimize database queries in @src/services/users.ts:

Look for:
- N+1 queries (use eager loading)
- Missing indexes
- SELECT * (select only needed fields)
- Inefficient joins

Provide optimized queries + recommended indexes."

⏱️ 3-5 minutes

12. Analyze Application Logs

tail -n 200 /var/log/app.log | claude "Analyze logs:

Find:
- Error patterns
- Most frequent errors
- Performance bottlenecks

Summarize top 3 issues to investigate."

⏱️ 1 minute

More Prompts

Want more? See Appendix: Comprehensive Prompt Library for 50+ prompts covering:

Advanced security audits
E2E testing
Docker & Kubernetes
React performance
Data migrations
And much more

Using Prompts Effectively

Tips:

Attach relevant files with @filename
Pipe command output: command | claude "prompt"
Be specific with requirements
Customize for your project patterns

Save time with aliases:

# Add to ~/.bashrc
alias cr='git diff --cached | claude "code review"'
alias cm='git diff --cached | claude "commit message"'

Context7 Integration

Access up-to-date library documentation in prompts:

# Get latest framework patterns
claude "Context7: Next.js 15 app router authentication"
claude "Context7: React 19 new hooks documentation"

# Review code with latest patterns
claude "Context7: Next.js 15 patterns, then review @src/app/page.tsx"

# Check for deprecated features
claude "Context7: What's deprecated in Next.js 15 in my code?" @src/app/**/*.tsx

When to use Context7:

Framework released in last 6 months
Need version-specific guidance
Working with beta features

See Context7 documentation for complete integration guide.

← Back to Part 7 Index

Next: Troubleshooting →