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Slash commands

Control Claude's behavior during an interactive session with slash commands.

Built-in slash commands

Command Purpose
/add-dir Add additional working directories
/agents Manage custom AI subagents for specialized tasks
/bug Report bugs (sends conversation to Anthropic)
/clear Clear conversation history
/compact [instructions] Compact conversation with optional focus instructions
/config Open the Settings interface (Config tab)
/cost Show token usage statistics (see cost tracking guide for subscription-specific details)
/doctor Checks the health of your Claude Code installation
/help Get usage help
/init Initialize project with CLAUDE.md guide
/login Switch Anthropic accounts
/logout Sign out from your Anthropic account
/mcp Manage MCP server connections and OAuth authentication
/memory Edit CLAUDE.md memory files
/model Select or change the AI model
/permissions View or update permissions
/pr_comments View pull request comments
/review Request code review
/sandbox Enable sandboxed bash tool with filesystem and network isolation for safer, more autonomous execution
/rewind Rewind the conversation and/or code
/status Open the Settings interface (Status tab) showing version, model, account, and connectivity
/terminal-setup Install Shift+Enter key binding for newlines (iTerm2 and VSCode only)
/usage Show plan usage limits and rate limit status (subscription plans only)
/vim Enter vim mode for alternating insert and command modes

Custom slash commands

Custom slash commands allow you to define frequently-used prompts as Markdown files that Claude Code can execute. Commands are organized by scope (project-specific or personal) and support namespacing through directory structures.

Syntax

/<command-name> [arguments]

Parameters

Parameter Description
<command-name> Name derived from the Markdown filename (without .md extension)
[arguments] Optional arguments passed to the command

Command types

Project commands

Commands stored in your repository and shared with your team. When listed in /help, these commands show "(project)" after their description.

Location: .claude/commands/

In the following example, we create the /optimize command:

# Create a project command
mkdir -p .claude/commands
echo "Analyze this code for performance issues and suggest optimizations:" > .claude/commands/optimize.md

Personal commands

Commands available across all your projects. When listed in /help, these commands show "(user)" after their description.

Location: ~/.claude/commands/

In the following example, we create the /security-review command:

# Create a personal command
mkdir -p ~/.claude/commands
echo "Review this code for security vulnerabilities:" > ~/.claude/commands/security-review.md

Features

Namespacing

Organize commands in subdirectories. The subdirectories are used for organization and appear in the command description, but they do not affect the command name itself. The description will show whether the command comes from the project directory (.claude/commands) or the user-level directory (~/.claude/commands), along with the subdirectory name.

Conflicts between user and project level commands are not supported. Otherwise, multiple commands with the same base file name can coexist.

For example, a file at .claude/commands/frontend/component.md creates the command /component with description showing "(project:frontend)". Meanwhile, a file at ~/.claude/commands/component.md creates the command /component with description showing "(user)".

Arguments

Pass dynamic values to commands using argument placeholders:

All arguments with $ARGUMENTS

The $ARGUMENTS placeholder captures all arguments passed to the command:

# Command definition
echo 'Fix issue #$ARGUMENTS following our coding standards' > .claude/commands/fix-issue.md

# Usage
> /fix-issue 123 high-priority
# $ARGUMENTS becomes: "123 high-priority"
Individual arguments with $1, $2, etc.

Access specific arguments individually using positional parameters (similar to shell scripts):

# Command definition  
echo 'Review PR #$1 with priority $2 and assign to $3' > .claude/commands/review-pr.md

# Usage
> /review-pr 456 high alice
# $1 becomes "456", $2 becomes "high", $3 becomes "alice"

Use positional arguments when you need to:

  • Access arguments individually in different parts of your command
  • Provide defaults for missing arguments
  • Build more structured commands with specific parameter roles

Bash command execution

Execute bash commands before the slash command runs using the ! prefix. The output is included in the command context. You must include allowed-tools with the Bash tool, but you can choose the specific bash commands to allow.

For example:

---
allowed-tools: Bash(git add:*), Bash(git status:*), Bash(git commit:*)
description: Create a git commit
---

## Context

- Current git status: !`git status`
- Current git diff (staged and unstaged changes): !`git diff HEAD`
- Current branch: !`git branch --show-current`
- Recent commits: !`git log --oneline -10`

## Your task

Based on the above changes, create a single git commit.

File references

Include file contents in commands using the @ prefix to reference files.

For example:

# Reference a specific file

Review the implementation in @src/utils/helpers.js

# Reference multiple files

Compare @src/old-version.js with @src/new-version.js

Thinking mode

Slash commands can trigger extended thinking by including extended thinking keywords.

Frontmatter

Command files support frontmatter, useful for specifying metadata about the command:

Frontmatter Purpose Default
allowed-tools List of tools the command can use Inherits from the conversation
argument-hint The arguments expected for the slash command. Example: argument-hint: add [tagId] | remove [tagId] | list. This hint is shown to the user when auto-completing the slash command. None
description Brief description of the command Uses the first line from the prompt
model Specific model string (see Models overview) Inherits from the conversation
disable-model-invocation Whether to prevent SlashCommand tool from calling this command false

For example:

---
allowed-tools: Bash(git add:*), Bash(git status:*), Bash(git commit:*)
argument-hint: [message]
description: Create a git commit
model: claude-3-5-haiku-20241022
---

Create a git commit with message: $ARGUMENTS

Example using positional arguments:

---
argument-hint: [pr-number] [priority] [assignee]
description: Review pull request
---

Review PR #$1 with priority $2 and assign to $3.
Focus on security, performance, and code style.

Plugin commands

Plugins can provide custom slash commands that integrate seamlessly with Claude Code. Plugin commands work exactly like user-defined commands but are distributed through plugin marketplaces.

How plugin commands work

Plugin commands are:

  • Namespaced: Commands can use the format /plugin-name:command-name to avoid conflicts (plugin prefix is optional unless there are name collisions)
  • Automatically available: Once a plugin is installed and enabled, its commands appear in /help
  • Fully integrated: Support all command features (arguments, frontmatter, bash execution, file references)

Plugin command structure

Location: commands/ directory in plugin root

File format: Markdown files with frontmatter

Basic command structure:

---
description: Brief description of what the command does
---

# Command Name

Detailed instructions for Claude on how to execute this command.
Include specific guidance on parameters, expected outcomes, and any special considerations.

Advanced command features:

  • Arguments: Use placeholders like {arg1} in command descriptions
  • Subdirectories: Organize commands in subdirectories for namespacing
  • Bash integration: Commands can execute shell scripts and programs
  • File references: Commands can reference and modify project files

Invocation patterns

/command-name
/plugin-name:command-name
/command-name arg1 arg2

MCP slash commands

MCP servers can expose prompts as slash commands that become available in Claude Code. These commands are dynamically discovered from connected MCP servers.

Command format

MCP commands follow the pattern:

/mcp__<server-name>__<prompt-name> [arguments]

Features

Dynamic discovery

MCP commands are automatically available when:

  • An MCP server is connected and active
  • The server exposes prompts through the MCP protocol
  • The prompts are successfully retrieved during connection

Arguments

MCP prompts can accept arguments defined by the server:

# Without arguments
> /mcp__github__list_prs

# With arguments
> /mcp__github__pr_review 456
> /mcp__jira__create_issue "Bug title" high

Naming conventions

  • Server and prompt names are normalized
  • Spaces and special characters become underscores
  • Names are lowercased for consistency

Managing MCP connections

Use the /mcp command to:

  • View all configured MCP servers
  • Check connection status
  • Authenticate with OAuth-enabled servers
  • Clear authentication tokens
  • View available tools and prompts from each server

MCP permissions and wildcards

When configuring permissions for MCP tools, note that wildcards are not supported:

  • ✅ Correct: mcp__github (approves ALL tools from the github server)
  • ✅ Correct: mcp__github__get_issue (approves specific tool)
  • ❌ Incorrect: mcp__github__* (wildcards not supported)

To approve all tools from an MCP server, use just the server name: mcp__servername. To approve specific tools only, list each tool individually.

SlashCommand tool

The SlashCommand tool allows Claude to execute custom slash commands programmatically during a conversation. This gives Claude the ability to invoke custom commands on your behalf when appropriate.

To encourage Claude to trigger SlashCommand tool, your instructions (prompts, CLAUDE.md, etc.) generally need to reference the command by name with its slash.

Example:

> Run /write-unit-test when you are about to start writing tests.

This tool puts each available custom slash command's metadata into context up to the character budget limit. You can use /context to monitor token usage and follow the operations below to manage context.

SlashCommand tool supported commands

SlashCommand tool only supports custom slash commands that:

  • Are user-defined. Built-in commands like /compact and /init are not supported.
  • Have the description frontmatter field populated. We use the description in the context.

For Claude Code versions >= 1.0.124, you can see which custom slash commands SlashCommand tool can invoke by running claude --debug and triggering a query.

Disable SlashCommand tool

To prevent Claude from executing any slash commands via the tool:

/permissions
# Add to deny rules: SlashCommand

This will also remove SlashCommand tool (and the slash command descriptions) from context.

Disable specific commands only

To prevent a specific slash command from becoming available, add disable-model-invocation: true to the slash command's frontmatter.

This will also remove the command's metadata from context.

SlashCommand permission rules

The permission rules support:

  • Exact match: SlashCommand:/commit (allows only /commit with no arguments)
  • Prefix match: SlashCommand:/review-pr:* (allows /review-pr with any arguments)

Character budget limit

The SlashCommand tool includes a character budget to limit the size of command descriptions shown to Claude. This prevents token overflow when many commands are available.

The budget includes each custom slash command's name, args, and description.

  • Default limit: 15,000 characters
  • Custom limit: Set via SLASH_COMMAND_TOOL_CHAR_BUDGET environment variable

When the character budget is exceeded, Claude will see only a subset of the available commands. In /context, a warning will show with "M of N commands".

Skills vs slash commands

Slash commands and Agent Skills serve different purposes in Claude Code:

Use slash commands for

Quick, frequently-used prompts:

  • Simple prompt snippets you use often
  • Quick reminders or templates
  • Frequently-used instructions that fit in one file

Examples:

  • /review → "Review this code for bugs and suggest improvements"
  • /explain → "Explain this code in simple terms"
  • /optimize → "Analyze this code for performance issues"

Use Skills for

Comprehensive capabilities with structure:

  • Complex workflows with multiple steps
  • Capabilities requiring scripts or utilities
  • Knowledge organized across multiple files
  • Team workflows you want to standardize

Examples:

  • PDF processing Skill with form-filling scripts and validation
  • Data analysis Skill with reference docs for different data types
  • Documentation Skill with style guides and templates

Key differences

Aspect Slash Commands Agent Skills
Complexity Simple prompts Complex capabilities
Structure Single .md file Directory with SKILL.md + resources
Discovery Explicit invocation (/command) Automatic (based on context)
Files One file only Multiple files, scripts, templates
Scope Project or personal Project or personal
Sharing Via git Via git

Example comparison

As a slash command:

# .claude/commands/review.md
Review this code for:
- Security vulnerabilities
- Performance issues
- Code style violations

Usage: /review (manual invocation)

As a Skill:

.claude/skills/code-review/
├── SKILL.md (overview and workflows)
├── SECURITY.md (security checklist)
├── PERFORMANCE.md (performance patterns)
├── STYLE.md (style guide reference)
└── scripts/
    └── run-linters.sh

Usage: "Can you review this code?" (automatic discovery)

The Skill provides richer context, validation scripts, and organized reference material.

When to use each

Use slash commands:

  • You invoke the same prompt repeatedly
  • The prompt fits in a single file
  • You want explicit control over when it runs

Use Skills:

  • Claude should discover the capability automatically
  • Multiple files or scripts are needed
  • Complex workflows with validation steps
  • Team needs standardized, detailed guidance

Both slash commands and Skills can coexist. Use the approach that fits your needs.

Learn more about Agent Skills.

See also