Skill Commands Reference Intermediate

A complete reference for all Claude Code slash commands, keyboard shortcuts, and techniques for using skills in automated workflows.

Built-in CLI Commands

These are system commands built into the Claude Code CLI itself (distinct from skills):

Command Description Example
/help Show available commands and help /help
/clear Clear conversation history /clear
/compact Summarize and compress conversation context /compact
/model Switch the AI model /model claude-sonnet-4-20250514
/memory View or edit CLAUDE.md memory files /memory
/cost Show token usage and cost for this session /cost
/doctor Diagnose Claude Code configuration issues /doctor
/config View or modify Claude Code settings /config

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+C Cancel current operation
Ctrl+D Exit Claude Code
Escape Cancel current input / interrupt response
Up Arrow Recall previous message
Tab Autocomplete slash commands

Using Skills in Headless Mode

Skills can be invoked from the command line using the -p flag for automation and CI/CD:

Terminal 
# Run a skill non-interactively
$ claude -p "/commit"

# Pass arguments to a skill
$ claude -p "/review-pr 123"

# Use a custom skill
$ claude -p "/deploy staging"

# Pipe output to a file
$ claude -p "/review-pr 123" > review-output.md

# Use in a CI/CD script
$ claude -p "/test-all" --output-format json
CI/CD Integration: Headless mode is powerful for automation. Use it in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins to automate code reviews, commit message generation, and documentation updates.

Combining Skills with Hooks

You can trigger skills automatically using Claude Code's hook system:

settings.json 
{
  "hooks": {
    "postToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Write",
        "command": "npx prettier --write $FILE_PATH"
      }
    ],
    "notification": [
      {
        "command": "notify-send 'Claude Code' '$MESSAGE'"
      }
    ]
  }
}
Learn More: For detailed information about hooks, see the Hooks System lesson in the Claude Plugins course.
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