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
/bug	Report bugs (sends conversation to Anthropic)
/clear	Clear conversation history
/compact [instructions]	Compact conversation with optional focus instructions
/config	View/modify configuration
/cost	Show token usage statistics
/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
/status	View account and system statuses
/terminal-setup	Install Shift+Enter key binding for newlines (iTerm2 and VSCode 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

/<prefix>:<command-name> [arguments]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
<prefix>	Command scope (project for project-specific, user for personal)
<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.

Location: .claude/commands/
Prefix: /project:

In the following example, we create the /project: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.

Location: ~/.claude/commands/
Prefix: /user:

In the following example, we create the /user: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 to create namespaced commands.

Structure: <prefix>:<namespace>:<command>

For example, a file at .claude/commands/frontend/component.md creates the command /project:frontend:component

Arguments

Pass dynamic values to commands using the $ARGUMENTS placeholder.

For example:

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

# Usage
> /project:fix-issue 123

Bash command execution

Execute bash commands before the slash command runs using the ! prefix. The output is included in the command context.

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.

File format

Command files support:

• Markdown format (.md extension)
• YAML frontmatter for metadata:
  • allowed-tools: List of tools the command can use
  • description: Brief description of the command
• Dynamic content with bash commands (!) and file references (@)
• Prompt instructions as the main content

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

See also

• Interactive mode - Shortcuts, input modes, and interactive features
• CLI reference - Command-line flags and options
• Settings - Configuration options
• Memory management - Managing Claude’s memory across sessions